A Knight to Remember - Year Two, Hogwarts
by kwlgirlbec
Summary: Skye is ready for her second year of Hogwarts, managing to survive both end of year exams and secret Quidditch matches. However, that was only the beginning as Skye is plagued by dark visions, all the while trying to help Tabitha and Mikey with their own problems. Thankfully, friends, both old and new, are anxious to help, ready for a fight that will go down in Hogwarts history.
1. Chapter 1 - The Start of Many

**Authors Note** **\- Hello, this is just a quick note to say that if you have found this story, you might want to consider reading the Year One story first (** s/12679070/1/A-Knight-to-Remember-Year-One-Hogwarts **)**. **If you already have, thank you very much for returning. Happy reading!**

 **Chapter One - The Start of Many**

Skye laughed as she hovered in the air, grasping the handle of one of Tabitha's old brooms. She had been getting a lot better at flying lately, mainly thanks to Tabitha's insistence she learn to play Quidditch and Toby's patience when teaching her. Currently, the two siblings were arguing over the events of last year's Quidditch World Cup.

"Scotland have never been known for their endurance. They needed to catch the snitch day one if they wanted to win," Toby argued.

"Yeah, but when has Canada's Seeker ever been any good?" Tabitha shot back.

"He was better than Scotland's. How do you miss a snitch that's millimetres from your fingertips?" Toby mused. Tabitha grumbled, tossing the Quaffle between the palm of her hands. "You'll have to come with us next time, Skye. The Quidditch World Cup is something to behold."

"I'm not sure I could just leave the country…" she murmured.

"Not a problem. Britain is hosting the next World Cup," Tabitha grinned.

"I'll just jott you guys down in my diary for three years time then," Skye smiled.

"It's a deal. I can't wait until you see how mental Mum gets. As soon as England drops out, she becomes 'British' just so she has someone to support. Went bonkers when Scotland reached the finals last year," Tabitha laughed, proceeding to adapt a terrible Scottish accent to sing what Skye assumed was a Scottish support song.

"Tabby, I think someone just stepped on Pat's tail," Toby joked, covering his ears.

Skye laughed as Tabitha proceeded to chase her brother around, viciously aiming the Quaffle at his head as they whizzed around the 'garden'. Skye had been shocked to discover Tabitha practically lived in a mansion with several hectares of land surrounding it. Once she had gotten over the initial worry of getting lost, Skye had never felt more at home.

"Come on, let's do some penalties," Skye suggested, most likely saving Toby from grievous bodily harm.

Or, maybe not. With Toby in goal, Tabitha launched a serious assault of shots in his direction. Skye had to admit she was impressed. When Tabitha put her mind to something, there was no stopping her, and with the dedication she had put into her Quidditch, Skye was sure she was guaranteed to get a spot on the team.

"Are you just going to hover there, Skye?" Toby called out to her.

"I'm happy to watch," she replied.

"Come on, take a shot! I'll go easy on you," he challenged.

Tabitha tossed over the Quaffle, which Skye grabbed before it could hit her in the face.

"Just get a good bit of speed on and make him regret his words, Skye," Tabitha encouraged her.

With a scowl, Skye flew around, trying to get used to manoeuvring with only one hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Toby exaggerated a yawn. With a shake of her head, she changed direction, gaining speed as she headed straight towards him. Steadying herself, she let go of her broom, using her momentum to aim a good chest pass in his direction, thankful for her netball days.

"Oof," uttered Toby as the Quaffle hit him square in the chest, causing both him and the ball to pass through their makeshift goalpost. Managing to slow his backwards propulsion, Toby looked at Skye open-mouthed. "Where in Merlin's beard did that come from?"

"You've got to teach me that move," Tabitha shrieked.

Skye blushed, "I really like playing netball. I've been told my chest passes are pretty good."

"I'll say," Toby muttered.

"Show it to me again, Skye." Tabitha demanded.

"Oh no, I'm not taking another stomach cruncher," Toby shook his head. "If you want to see it again, you can take the full force of it yourself."

XxX

Skye had been given permission from Helen (after a multitude of begging, organisation, and an exchange between her and Tabitha's parents) to spend the final week of her summer holidays with the Hart family. So far, it had been the best week of her life; being able to meet Mikey in Diagon Alley to get their school things, helping Tabitha train for the Quidditch team, and marvelling at the extraordinary thing that was wizarding life.

Despite Tabitha's best efforts to convince her otherwise, the Hart family were truly amazing people. Mr Hart worked from home, brewing potions to order and even supplying some of his own invention. Skye had soon become used to his eccentricity, but rather hoped they didn't have to evacuate the house for the third time that week due to 'unidentified fumes' escaping from his office.

In contrast, Mrs Hart had a cool demeanour, but was strong-willed and sharp. Her own family found her a bit stern and intimidating (Skye had found this out when Mr Hart had bribed her and Tabby with ice cream for their silence over the first fume mishap), but Skye was nothing but awe-struck with her from day one, when she had asked Mrs Hart what she had gotten up to at the Ministry over dinner.

"Oh nothing much, dear," she had begun. "My department were investigating some wizard who had been rumoured to be raising boomslangs. We thought it might be a good lead on tracking down some Dark Wizards, seeing at the skin is used in Polyjuice Potion… do you know what that is, dear?" Skye had nodded, open-mouthed. "Yes, well, turns out some idiot in the Department of Magical Creatures had misidentified them and they turned out to be harmless things. Quite disappointing, really."

Skye wasn't so sure what was disappointing about not finding highly venomous snakes, but she wasn't about to question Mrs Hart. Toby had also managed to secure himself a place in the Spell Registration Office. Skye had noticed he came home a bit miserable, but fortunately she could cheer him up by asking about the new spells he was working on in his own time.

"I've made some real progress on the interdimensional deflection charm. Stage one is complete with the charm being absorbed, but I'm not really sure where it goes after that. Obviously, the aim is to target it at your opponent's back…" he was telling her as they had sat down for their evening cup of tea.

"Isn't that a bit dangerous? I mean your spell could end up anywhere!" Skye gasped.

"I'm only sending tickling charms through at the moment. Plus, I'm keeping an eye out for reports of spontaneous tickling. No luck yet, though," he sighed.

"Oh, well I'm sure it will work out," she encouraged him.

"Time for bed girls." Mrs Hart commanded, eyes narrowed at Tabitha.

"Why doesn't she ever give you 'the look'?" Tabitha muttered.

"Because, I tend to stay in bed and don't wander around trying to escape for a quick midnight flying session," she whispered back.

Skye was snuggling into Tabitha's double bed. She watched as her friend pottered around the room, throwing items in her school trunk, having decided now was the perfect time to pack for their return in a couple of days time. Soon, her eyes grew heavy and she was drawn into a deep sleep.

 _Skye found herself in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom at Hogwarts. A figure stood in the corner, wrapped in shadows. Her heart began racing, but Skye couldn't stop herself walking up to the figure and reaching out, forcing them to turn around._

" _Professor Mater?" Skye asked, recognising the woman bathed in shadows. "Are you okay?"_

 _Tears fell from the Professor's eyes as she clung to a bundle of blankets at her chest._

" _I couldn't save him," she whispered._

" _Who?" She wondered aloud, body trembling._

 _Beside her, a boy around Skye's age materialised, grasping the Professor's hand. Then, Professor Mater let go, rushed forward and grabbed her arms to hold her in place. Skye froze on the spot, unable to look away from her lifeless eyes._

" _He will be the first of many," the Professor rasped._

Skye's eyes shot open, her body frozen in place. She had no perception of how long she was paralysed to the bed, but upon finally calming herself and placing her feet firmly on the floor, she felt a great chill pass over her. Slowly, she got up, shivering from the sheen of sweat that covered her body and began to walk out the bedroom to head downstairs.

"Skye?" Mrs Hart had her wand pointed at Skye, the brightness of its tip dimming as Skye held up her hand to shield herself from it. "What are you doing walking around the house?"

"I'm sorry I woke you. I didn't want to go back to sleep," she hugged herself to stop her body shivering.

"Why not?" She questioned as she took off her dressing gown and threw it around the trembling girl.

"I had a dream…" Skye began.

"Was it just a dream?" Mrs Hart inquired carefully.

"I don't think so."

Tears spilled from Skye's eyes and Mrs Hart embraced her, rubbing her back and whispering comforting words. Once Skye had calmed down, Mrs Hart set to work brewing a cup of tea as Skye stared at the wooden table in their dining room. Setting down the cup, Skye began to describe her dream at Mrs Hart's request.

"The boy. What did he look like?" Mrs Hart asked, leaning forward.

"Well, he was about my age," Skye winced, trying to recall any detail. Mrs Hart nodded at her in encouragement. "Really skinny, and he had bright blonde hair."

"Blonde hair, are you sure?" she gasped, seeming confused.

She nodded, "I remember because it was the only light in the darkness."

Skye didn't have a clue why hair colour was important right now, but she was too tired to question it. Unfortunately, Skye didn't think she was getting back to sleep anytime soon.

"I'm going to write to Professor Dumbledore. He has expressed his concern for you previously and I'm sure he'd want to know about a vision concerning one of his staff. I know it's hard, but take comfort that you've helped more than you know just by telling someone about this."

Mrs Hart rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. Skye nodded, happily accepting Mrs Hart's offer of a Sleeping Potion in the hope that she would have a dreamless sleep. As she drifted off, she remembered the wise Headmaster's words that haunted her soul; 'since this is your first instance of true premonition, it may be that it is your only one, or perhaps the start of many.'


	2. Chapter 2 - The Boy Who Lived

**Chapter Two - The Boy Who Lived**

Skye stared out the window, watching the countryside pass her by, highly comforted by the methodical click-clack of the train and the purring of Pat. She winced as Tabitha's cat stretched out, digging her claws into her leg.

"Pat, don't do that," Tabitha commanded, shooing the cat away. Pat landed with a thump, her yellow eyes giving Tabitha a nonchalant glance before returning to her cat carrier, back turned in protest. "Where on earth she gets such an attitude I'll never know."

"Yeah, it's a real mystery," Mikey chuckled.

"Guys, I need to tell you something," Skye spoke up, catching Tabitha before she had time to retaliate.

"Finally," Tabitha sighed, sitting down next to Mikey who was giving her a stern look. "Sorry, but something's been wrong for days. Was it my family? I know they're nuts, but we can just stay at Hogwarts for Christmas if you don't want to go back…"

"No, no, nothing like that Tabitha. Your family is the best and I can't wait for Christmas," Skye laughed, relieving herself of some of the tension that had unknowingly built up in her body.

"Well, what about hmmshhmmm," Tabitha's voice became muffled as Mikey hand clamped over her mouth.

"How about we just let Skye tell us what's been bothering her?" Mikey suggested, looking forwards Skye with a worried frown.

Once Tabitha had been released (Skye highly surprised she thought this serious enough not to lick his hand for freedom), she began to tell the two about her dream and how Mrs Hart had wrote to Dumbledore about it.

"But who was the boy? What do you think happened to him?" Tabitha frowned.

"Or what do you think _is_ _going_ to happen to him," Mikey pointed out.

"He seemed around our age, but I've never seen him at Hogwarts. Maybe the Professor knows him?" Skye wondered.

"Or maybe he's a first year. We might see him at the sorting and maybe something will happen to him this year! Maybe we have to help the Professor save him," Tabitha theorised excitedly.

"I don't know, Tabitha. My dream showed me that Professor Mater couldn't save him. What help would we be?" She despaired.

"Sometimes a bit of help can make all the difference, but I think we should wait until we can speak to Dumbledore or Mater before we start with wild theories. For all we know, we could be blowing this out of proportion. It's best we don't worry about it until we get some facts," Mikey stated calmly.

Skye nodded, seeing sense in his words. Dumbledore had been told everything she knew and, as Mrs Hart had pointed out, maybe that was enough to help. As probably the most powerful wizard in the world, if there was something to be done, he would do it. Content in that knowledge, the group chatted happily until two red-headed boys came bouncing into their compartment.

Fred stalled, grabbing his brother's arm as he stared at Skye. She started to panic, wondering if she had forgotten some part of her uniform. Skirt correct and present, Skye glared back.

"What?" She shrieked.

"I don't believe it, George. Two legends in one day! Can it truly be Skye Knight; the foe of felines, the torturer of tabbys, the nemesis of Norris!" Fred gasped, clutching his chest.

"I believe it is, brother. Should we kneel or bow?" George inquired.

"Both," Tabitha concluded after some consideration.

Skye groaned. It seemed despite her best wishes that everyone would have forgotten over the summer, the twins still thought of her as some sort of hero for paralysing Mrs Norris in a Body Binding Curse outside the Gryffindor Common Room last year. She slid down in her seat, hoping it would swallow her up.

"Wait a second, did you say two legends? Who's the first?" Mikey questioned the pair, eyebrows raised.

"Obviously, it's me," Tabitha scoffed.

"Sorry, Tabby cat. You'll never guess who we met on the train a while ago," George grinned.

"Harry Potter!" Fred revealed.

"No, you didn't," Tabitha snorted.

"We're not kidding. He even had the scar to prove it. Looks exactly like a lightning bolt," George argued, slightly awed.

Mikey gave Skye a look to ask if she was as lost as he was. However, Skye was racking her brains trying to figure out where she had heard the name 'Harry Potter' before.

"Was he the guy who took out some sort of Dark Wizard?" She asked.

She had a faint recollection of seeing the name as she was browsing through 'The Darkest Wizards of our Time' before spotting a book titled 'Charms that Changed the World' that she had become enthralled with. Tabitha had only found her when her mother had reminded her that the family owned a library several hours later.

"You're kidding," Tabitha cried in disbelief. "He didn't just take out 'some Dark Wizard', Skye. He took out You-Know-Who! He's a legend. The only person to survive the Killing Curse," Tabitha explained, wide eyed and slightly star struck.

"You-Know-Who? No, I don't know who. Who?" Mikey frowned.

"You can't say his name, it's forbidden, but he was one of the most feared wizards of all time. He caused a huge Wizarding War and Harry Potter was the one who put a stop to it," Fred added.

"So, was he dropping off his kid, or something?" Mikey asked, eyes narrowed.

"No, you see, that's the thing. When he defeated You-Know-Who he was just a baby. No one knows what happened that night, but from that point the Wizarding War was over. He must have just turned eleven this year," George pointed out.

"There is no way a baby beat a wizard that was in ' _The Darkest Wizards of our Time',"_ Skye scoffed.

"I swear, Skye. It's all true. Harry Potter is a name every wizard on this planet knows. He's the boy who lived," Tabitha marvelled.

XxX

Skye watched as the first years entered the Great Hall, many of them awe struck and marvelling at the many extraordinary sights Hogwarts had to offer. It seemed that word had gotten around about Harry Potter's arrival, but she was watching out for anyone that resembled the boy from her dream. With no such luck, Skye turned her attention back to the teacher's table.

The fact that Professor Mater was absent had not escaped her notice and had bloomed an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Even more worrying was the presence of another, a timid man in a purple turban, who she didn't recognise. Turning her attention back to the first years, Skye clapped half-heartedly as the Sorting Hat finished it's song. Watching the sorting with glazed eyes, Skye jumped as Tabitha leaned in towards her.

"I swear, this lot will never live up to the Gryffindor name," she commented with a shake of her head as one first year ran over with the hat still perched on his head.

"Welcome to Gryffindor," Skye welcomed the boy, since everyone else was too busy laughing.

The boy gave her a meek smile, his chubby cheeks containing a pink tinge, before sitting down at the table. Several students later, Tabitha tapped Skye on the shoulder, indicating the direction of the Hufflepuff table. As she looked over, she could see Mikey's questioning gaze as he nodded towards 'Malfoy, Draco'. Skye glanced over and shook her head at him.

"What'd I miss?" Tabitha frowned.

"Mikey wanted to know if that was the kid I saw in my dream, but it's not," Skye whispered back.

"Of course it isn't. The Malfoys are privileged and stuck up," Tabitha pouted.

Skye raised her eyebrows at the girl, wondering what the deal was with the Malfoy family. Watching on, Skye grew curious as Harry Potter was called up to be sorted. Everywhere students whispered, echoing the awe Skye already associated with the boy. As the hat announced his placement in Gryffindor, the whole table erupted and whooped to welcome him.

Skye shook her head as the Weasley's could be heard above it all yelling, 'We've got Potter! We've got Potter!'. Soon the noise of the room faded away, and there was little Harry Potter standing next to the blond haired boy Skye recognised from her dream. 'The first of many, and the beginning of the end,' whispered a wispy voice.

"The beginning of what?" Tabitha inquired.

"What?" Skye shook her head, eyes wide. "N-nothing."

"Did you just…?" Tabitha began, but was interrupted when a paper butterfly began hovering above them.

Skye stretched out her hand, causing the paper butterfly to rest on it and unfold to reveal a message.

"Dumbledore wants to speak with me after the feast. Hopefully, he can tell me where Professor Mater is," she hoped.

"I'll wait for you outside the common room so you can get back in. You can tell me everything then," Tabitha ordered.

"I will. I just hope the Professor is okay," she sighed.


	3. Chapter 3 - Seeker of Truth

**Chapter Three - Seeker of Truth**

"Jazzles," said Professor Dumbledore.

Skye watched as the gargoyle on the seventh floor stood aside, allowing them to ascend the spiral staircase. Arriving into the office, she was astounded by the assortment of objects contained within the room, but her eyes rested on the vast library the old wizard had collected.

"It always amuses me to see what items draw my students to them," Dumbledore mused with a twinkle in his eye.

"Well, I'm sure without the books, no one would be able to understand many of them," Skye murmured, brushing her fingers against the spines of a few leather bound books. Coming from her trance, she realised who she was talking to, "err… sorry."

"Understand their intended uses, perhaps, but sometimes I find that an empty mind can provide a new purpose entirely," Dumbledore smiled, taking a seat at his desk. In response, Skye blinked. "Now, Miss Knight, please take a seat."

With a wave of his wand a chair materialised across from his own, and a silver tea set began serving a steaming cup of tea, spoons and sugar floating around at their own accord. Skye sat down. Tearing her eyes away from the tea set, she looked at Dumbledore expectantly.

"First of all, I would like to assure you that Professor Mater is well, but has suffered a most tragic loss. You see, Miss Knight, the Professor and her husband found it difficult to have children, but in April were thrilled to discover they were expecting a child of their own. She had hoped to return this year, but, most tragically, it seemed it was not meant to be," he explained grimly.

"She lost the baby?" Skye breathed.

"Yes. Professor Mater has requested that Professor Quirrell, the man who was her replacement once the baby was due, cover her classes for the year."

Skye nodded, feeling sad that the Professor had finally been able to have a child of her own, only to have it taken away. Then, she recalled her dream, and how the Professor had been cradling a bundle in her arms.

"Sir, I don't mean to sound insensitive, but my dream. Do you think it was trying to warn us about the baby? Maybe we could have done something to save him…" she wondered, sadly.

"It does you ill to think like that, Miss Knight. Though many think that to know the future is a great gift, it is a terrible burden in that despite your best efforts, being forewarned does nothing once the events have transpired. No one ever seems to dwell on those events averted, or those that never occur," he cautioned.

"Then you think that the boy from my vision was Professor Mater's baby?" Skye wondered, recalling the boy from her vision.

"It crossed my mind, as one of many possibilities, that it was a perception of what could have been. That this is your belief certainly makes the assumption more likely," he concluded.

Skye nodded with a sigh. Pulling at a string that was loose on her chair, she took a moment to embrace the silence, trying to push away thoughts of a young and innocent boy that never had a chance in this world.

"Professor, I think there's something else you should know. I saw the boy again this evening, in the Great Hall. He was standing hand in hand with Harry Potter and this voice spoke to me. It said 'the first of many, and the beginning of the end'," she sighed.

The Professor rested on his desk, hands clasped to support his head. Skye watched him, as he took in this information, most likely trying to piece together a terribly complex puzzle with too many incorrect solutions.

"Thank you for letting me know. I wish I could provide some answers, but at this time all I have are half-hearted guesses that I do not wish to plague your thoughts with. However, it is evident your skills are growing and I believe this is something we must address. Here at Hogwarts, we offer Divination as a third year subject, but obviously your abilities are far beyond that. Perhaps, you would be interested in some private lessons?" Dumbledore questioned her.

Skye examined her knees. Right now, her visions and prophecies were rare occurrences, but to explore them in private lessons? Skye couldn't help but feel that she was just inviting them to the forefront of her mind. Believing it was a truly terrible idea, Skye looked at Dumbledore prepared to politely decline, yet looking the wise man in the eye, she shocked herself when the opposite was already on its way out her mouth.

"Of course," she answered, cursing her need to please everyone.

Dumbledore nodded, "I will make the necessary arrangements, so please expect a note on the matter within due course. Is there anything else you wish to discuss, Miss Knight?"

Skye shook her head, already regretting her decision. She thought it best that she escape before Dumbledore suggested they start gazing into a crystal ball right this moment. Bidding him goodnight, Skye left the Headmaster's office, all too ready to crawl into bed back in the Gryffindor dormitory. Walking along the quiet corridor, she looked up startled as a hissing sound could be heard echoing amongst the walls.

"What do we have here?" Snarled Filch. In his arms, he cradled Mrs Norris, who sat, hair raised and glaring at the young Gryffindor. "The feast ended a while ago. What business do you have to be wondering around?"

"I…" Skye began, but the man cut her off.

"Detention," spat Filch.

"But I didn't do anything!" Skye complained.

"Is everything alright here, Mr Filch?" Squeaked Professor Flitwick, who came bustling around the corner to witness the scene.

"I found Miss Knight wondering the corridor, Professor," Filch explained with a glare.

"Well, I'm sure there is a good explanation. Skye is one of my best students. A true natural at Charms!" The Professor puffed with pride and Skye gave him a shy smile.

"I was invited to speak with Professor Dumbledore in his office, sir. I was just heading back to my common room," she explained, ignoring the hiss from Mrs Norris.

"There we are, all cleared up. Now you better head back to your dormitory," he prompted her, politely.

"Of course, Professor. Although I actually wanted to talk to you about this book I read over the summer, 'The Charms That Changed the World'," she decided to mention while Filch glared at her.

"Oh, a brilliant read! What was it you were…" Filch sneered in annoyance and Flitwick gave him a sidelong glance. "Err, perhaps we better talk about this after our first class, Skye. Off you pop," he declared.

Skye gave the man an enthusiastic nod and wished him a good evening. Heading off to the Gryffindor common room, she could still feel the deadly stare of Filch and Mrs Norris as she turned onto the next corridor. To say she had made a dangerous enemy was an understatement.

XxX

"Why don't you just tell him you've changed your mind?" Tabitha suggested.

"I can't. I've already agreed and he's probably started making all the arrangements. I can't just turn around and say I don't want to do it anymore," Skye whined.

"Why not, it's your decision," Tabitha sighed, spinning to sit upside down in her chair, her feet dangling over the headrest.

"I just can't, okay?" She shot back.

"Hey, Weasleys," Tabitha bellowed across the common room. The room quietened as four red-headed boys looked across in their direction. Skye tried to blend into the background as best as she could. "The idiotic ones."

Skye watched as the two twins bounced across the room, happy to be summoned as 'the idiotic ones', it seemed.

"Merlin's beard, guys. How many siblings do you have?" She moaned.

"Enough to take over the Ministry of Magic," George grinned.

"What can we do for you, Tabby cat?" Fred asked, intrigued.

"You guys took Divination, right? Why don't you tell Skye what a brilliant idea it is to have private lessons with that Trelawney woman?" She schemed.

Both twins looked shocked.

"What did you do to deserve that punishment, Skye? Did you pick McGonagall as your next feline target?" Fred inquired.

"You'll be my next target if you're not careful," she warned him.

"Now that I would like to see," George smirked.

"Guys," Tabitha breathed.

"Well, let's see. After two whole lessons I've learnt I will die a tragic death and haunt the Hogwarts faculty until the end of days. I'm quite disappointed really, I always thought I would join the ghoul in our attic when I passed on," Fred mused.

"You have a ghoul in your attic?" Tabitha asked, amused.

"What is wrong with you people?" Skye shook her head.

"I don't know why you would have private lessons with her, Skye. She's bonkers. I doubt she's made a correct prediction in her life," George guessed.

"Lucky her," Skye sulked.

"Guys, have you signed up, yet?" Interrupted Oliver Wood. Skye glanced at the burly fifth year, giving him a glare to rival McGonagall. Completely oblivious, Wood chatted on. "I've just put the list out for the Quidditch team. I've spent all summer divising new tactics. We just need to find ourselves a new Seeker and we're golden!"

"How are we supposed to have signed up if you've just put out the list?" Fred asked.

"Never mind that, just make sure you do it," Wood ordered, storming over to Angelina across the room, who was talking to Katie Bell.

"What about your new Chasers?" Tabitha wondered.

"Well, there's Spinnet. Wood has been pestering her all summer about practising enough to leave the reserve team. Plus, I think quite a few people want to go for the other position. Wood's really worried about finding a Seeker though. No one wants to go for it after Charlie," George explained.

Tabitha frowned, deep in thought. Then, she span 180 degrees and walked up to the noticeboard. Holding her hand out, Skye sighed and routed around her school bag for a quill to hand over. Watching, she saw Tabitha write her name down, followed by 'Seeker' under the 'desired position' column.

"What are you doing? You've trained all summer for the Chaser position," Skye pointed out.

"I'll be just as good at being a Seeker. Plus, the Seeker gets all the glory in Quidditch. Just picture it, Skye. Me flying above the crowds and I've caught the snitch! The whole crowd are cheering that we've won the Quidditch cup," she cheered, proceeding to mimic the roars of a crowd with long and breathy roars.

"I don't think…"

"I've made up my mind, Skye. I can do this!" She grinned.

Skye knew better than to convince Tabitha otherwise when she had made up her mind. Unfortunately, Skye had a sneaky suspicion that it wasn't going to work out quite as planned. Quick as a flash, Skye envisioned Tabitha; her hand was outstretched and within it she held a yellow ball, it's wings fluttering faster than a hummingbird's. With a shake of her head the image was gone and Skye was left to wonder which of her premonitions she was supposed to believe.


	4. Chapter 4 - To Catch A Snitch

**Chapter Four - To Catch a Snitch**

Skye made her way down the long corridor, heading towards the North Tower, grumbling to herself as Fred and George guided her way to the Divination Classroom.

"Oh, and don't look her directly in the eye. It's how she enslaves her followers," George forewarned her.

Skye shook her head. So far their advice had consisted of warnings not to breath in her intoxicating fumes, drink her poisoned tea, or stare at her inner eye. 'She gets weird about it,' Fred had joked.

"You guys aren't helping," she stated bluntly, a small smile escaping her lips.

"You know the offer to join us is still open," George offered.

"As much as I would love to help you blow up a toilet, I think I'll pass," Skye laughed.

"Well, this is it; Divination Tower. Ready to face the beast?" Fred asked her.

"If I don't come back, tell Tabitha and Mikey to avenge me. Tabitha gets permission to use 100% evil capabilities," she said, taking a deep breath.

After a half-hearted chuckle, the twins wished her luck, a brief look of sympathy plaguing their faces before they covered it up with a smile. Soon, Skye was making her ascent, glad the twins had dropped her off at the stairs. At this rate, she was questioning how fit she was as she climbed, red faced and breathing heavily. At the top, she braced herself, climbing the ladder to knock at the circular trapdoor.

"Enter my dear," came a low and raspy voice.

As Skye climbed upwards, she was hit with the pungent smell of incense. The room itself was scorching and humid. Glancing around, she was almost startled as she spotted a bug-eyed woman staring at her from across the room.

"Err, hello. My name is Skye," she introduced herself, her hand outstretched for a handshake.

The woman marvelled at her and Skye had to wonder if she had something on her face. Clasping her hand, the Professor began nodding.

"It is such a pleasure, my dear. I have foreseen your arrival at Hogwarts for many long years. To finally find someone as gifted as myself. It is a rare sight indeed," she breathed.

"Oh, well, thank you?" Skye responded, not quite sure what to say.

"Of course you must have many questions, but I assure you, all will be answered at the right time. Now if you would join me," she instructed, indicating the table in front of the fireplace.

Skye sat down, the heat from the fire burning into her skin. Immediately, she began to sweat, feeling highly uncomfortable in the heat. Or perhaps it had more to do with the crystal ball that was placed between them.

"Tell me what you see," Trelawney rasped.

Skye opened her mouth to say something, but was hushed as the Professor repeated her question. Sighing, Skye looked within the crystal ball. All she could think about was the complete lack of instruction. What was she even supposed to do? Ask it a question? Instead she just stared as the silence droned on. After what felt like a century, Skye saw a small round ball and the fast flutter of wings.

"The snitch," she gasped.

"Not quite, dear, but you are close. What you see is a guide, someone who can lead you, teach you what you need to know. These are all embodiments of myself and my guidance," she explained.

Skye raised an eyebrow as she watched the ball flutter around within the smoke of the crystal. Never one to correct a teacher, she shook her head, deciding she would be better off trying to find out what she needed to know.

"Thank you, Professor. I was actually wondering if there was anyway I could… control the visions? Maybe stop them?" She inquired.

"My dear, you can not simply command the Second Sight. Each vision is a gift, an insight into the beyond," she rambled, holding her arm out into her imaginative 'beyond'.

"But, Professor, what's the point? I get these visions and either they don't happen, or once they do, it's too late to do anything about it," she complained, exasperated.

"As Seers we are merely observers, Skye. We forewarn and watch as the events transpire," she explained.

Skye stared at her open mouthed. 'What was the point,' she had asked and her answer was that there was no point. We just tell them what is going to happen and we do nothing.

"I can't accept that," she whispered.

"I see a rock face, strong and stubborn. Yet, over the years it is attacked, withered by the sea. Reduced to rubble, beaten and warn," Trelawney droned on.

Skye's eyes narrowed, a storm brewing within them. If she had to live her life seeing visions of buildings being destroyed and people suffering, she was going to make damn sure that she could do something about it. Unfortunately, that meant she couldn't just hide away from her visions, she had to understand them.

"Professor, I need you to teach me how to interpret my visions," she pleaded with the woman.

"And thus your journey begins. One day you will stand in my place, the most gifted Seer of your time," Trelawney exclaimed.

If Skye was as brave as the Gryffindor she was supposed to be, she would have said there and then that she would never be like Trelawney. Instead, she kept quiet, listening intently as the Professor gave her a copy of 'Unfogging the Future' and droned on about the many tools they would use to interpret the future. Skye listened intently, trying to pick out anything useful from her ramblings as best she could. Unfortunately, the future depended on them.

XxX

"Dare I ask?" Mikey prompted her warily.

Sitting on the stands of the Quidditch pitch, Skye sighed, closing her book. She had acquired quite a few recently, all on the topic of Divination, hoping they could be a better guide than the absolute nut job that was Sybill Trelawney.

"Don't get me started," she whined. "She keeps warning me about a raven. I half expect she's going to set one loose on me, just to prove herself right."

Mikey chuckled with a shake of his head.

"But is it helping? If anything you seem more spaced out," he pointed out, eyes full of concern.

"I know. I was worried about triggering more visions and honestly, I was right. Another correct prediction," Skye said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I just can't let what Trelawney said come true."

"I wish I could help," Mikey sighed, picking up her book. "Maybe you should start writing down what you see and what you think it means. Then once it happens, you can learn from it."

"Well, it can't hurt. Thanks for the advice," Skye smiled.

"Speaking of predictions, did you ever figure out that one about Tabitha and the Snitch?" He inquired, eyebrows raised.

"Well, when she signed up for Seeker, I just knew it wouldn't work out, but I saw her catch a snitch and she was ecstatic. Like she had just won the World Cup," Skye explained.

"Maybe she gets rejected, and decides to steal the snitch in evil retaliation," Mikey suggested.

"Knowing Tabitha? That's pretty likely," Skye laughed.

"Look, there she is," Mikey exclaimed.

Skye looked down on the pitch and saw Tabitha waving her arms around at them, her broomstick almost hitting Oliver Wood in the face as he tried to round up the potential recruits. Soon, they were kicking off the ground, and Skye watched as Tabitha raced around the pitch, maneuvering her broom expertly, dodging both students and bludger alike.

"She looks pretty good out there," Mikey commented, impressed.

"She was practising all summer. I mean, she was pretty good with a broom already, but this is another league," Skye agreed.

"I wish I was that confident with a broom. According to Madam Hooch, they refused to rise because they sensed my fear…" Mikey frowned.

"I had the opposite problem. I got angry at my broom and it hit me in the face instead of rising into my hand," Skye sulked.

"I bet she was a natural," Mikey mused.

"The damn thing flew straight into her hand," Skye muttered.

Flying had been the first thing that Skye hadn't really excelled in. That and Herbology. It seemed that her ability to kill any plant other than a cacti translated into the wizarding world as well. Skye owed her competence to Madam Hooch's insistence that anyone could fly under her instruction. As for Herbology, she was passing because Adam actually remembered to water the plants they were supposed to be looking after throughout the semester.

"By the way, I thought Adam was coming to watch with us. Where is he?" Skye realised suddenly.

"He had some stuff to do," Mikey said with finality.

Skye raised her eyebrows at him wondering if they had fallen out over something. Now she thought about it, she hadn't really seen Adam for a while, other than in the classes they shared with Hufflepuff. He didn't always hang out with them, but she expected to see him a bit more often than this. With a shake of her head, Skye could see it wasn't a subject Mikey wanted to talk about, so she looked back out over the Quidditch pitch.

"What are they doing now?" Skye wondered, watching as Tabitha and a fifth year split off from the group.

"That must be Snot-nose," Mikey concluded.

Skye nodded in agreement. Snot-nose had been what Tabitha deemed her only rival for the position of Seeker. Soon, she was watching as Wood appeared to charm what looked like ping-pong balls for them to chase in the air. Snot-nose was the first up.

Both Skye and Mikey watched intently as the fifth year flew around the Quidditch pitch, chasing after the charmed ball. His first attempt left them in hysterics as he was so focused on the ball, he flew right into the goalpost and ended up hanging upside down, hooked on by his foot. With his next two attempts as successful, Skye was sure that Wood had slowed the balls down for his last two. Even she could follow where they were in the end. Next up was Tabitha, and Skye held her breath as she watched her friend focus intently, as if scheming an evil plot. From there it was all downhill. Tabitha's flying was excellent, but she just couldn't keep track of the ball. It was like she didn't have the attention span. Two catches under her belt, out of five, meant she was tied for the position.

"She looks ready to break that broom in half," Mikey observed.

Skye couldn't help but agree as she watched Tabitha pout, while Wood talked it out with the pair. Soon, a golden glint was released and she realised that this was the final test. They were both looking for the real thing. Winner takes all. Skye stood up, gripping the bars of the stands with anxiety.

There were several near misses. While Snot-nose was better at spotting the Snitch, as soon as he raced after it, Tabitha was the better flyer and could pin it down. Unfortunately, this happened on repeat before they both lost it again. Skye groaned, peeking out from behind her fingertips.

"It's like they're both equally terrible," Mikey frowned.

Skye gave him a glare to rival McGonagall, before catching a glint of gold out of the corner of her eye. It was the Snitch and it was circling Tabitha, almost taunting her.

"Tabitha, it's right there!" She yelled across the pitch.

Tabitha jumped, startled by the Snitch's presence and grabbed at it. Out of nowhere, Snot-nose came zooming in, the pair falling to the ground as the fifth year once again became oblivious to his surroundings at the sight of the Snitch. Skye and Mikey ran to the field, racing towards the circle of Gryffindors that had encased the pair.

"Tabitha, are you alright?" Skye yelped as the two bustled their way past the crowd.

Tabitha looked as white as a sheet as she cradled her arm.

"Can you move your arm?" Mikey asked as he went to touch it.

Tabitha yelped, twisting her body away from Mikey's hand.

"Should I go get Madam Pomfrey?" Angelina asked.

Skye watched helplessly as Mikey took off the jumper he was wearing and tucked it under her arm, after a lot of convincing on his part. She was impressed as he managed to wrap the arms around her neck in a makeshift sling, her arm resting on the neckline.

Next, they managed to get her on her feet, tears streaming down her face as the entire Quidditch team escorted her and Snot-nose to the medical wing. Upon seeing them, Madam Pomfrey tutted, muttering something about banning Quidditch. Skye and Mikey waited outside impatiently.

"Where did you learn to do that sling?" Skye whispered to Mikey.

"I used to do a Boy Scout thing. We learnt quite a lot of first aid. I really liked how you could turn anything into a sling if you thought about it enough," he explained.

Skye nodded, impressed. Soon, the Quidditch team rose as Madam Pomfrey emerged from the room.

"Five minutes, and that is all. They need their rest," she barked, promptly returning to her patients.

Skye and Mikey were the first on the scene at Tabitha's bedside. Skye was glad to see some colour had returned back into her cheeks and she smiled as they approached, the rest of the team gathering around the two Gryffindor's beds.

"Will you live?" Mikey asked dramatically.

"Just about. I had a dislocated shoulder. I wish you could have seen it. It looked disgusting," Tabitha beamed with pride.

"Only you could injure yourself and be proud about it," Skye shook her head. "How did the other guy fair?"

"I think he has a concussion, but forget him. Do you think I made the team?" Tabitha frowned, looking at Wood.

"Sorry, Hart, but we're going for the other guy. Don't give up though, I think you'd make an excellent Chaser," Wood broke the news to her.

It seemed that despite going for the other guy, Wood wasn't too happy about it as he wandered off, muttering about going to talk to McGonagall. Tabitha was similarly outraged, her pouting causing her to wince as she crossed her arms.

"But I worked so hard," she complained, her eyes softening in disappointment.

"Don't worry, Tabby cat. Wood was really impressed with your broom skills. I'm sure you'll make it next year," Fred chirped up.

However, it seemed that Tabitha was already in a pit of gloom as she rolled over, sniffing. In response, the team decided to start heading off. Between them, Skye and Mikey exchanged a look, having never seen Tabitha so sad. The question that passed between them was obvious; what were they going to do about it?


	5. Chapter 5 - The Forbidden Forest

**Chapter Five - The Forbidden Forest**

"Ok, next is 'Finite Incantatem'. Flitwick described it as a wizard's bread and butter to removing spells, since it can counter a good many of them," Skye explained.

"Mm-hmm," Tabitha replied, writing intently.

"It can be used in its abbreviated form 'Finite', which is a lot more useful for duelling situations, for example," she continued. Tabitha hummed in agreement again, eyes narrowing on her sheet of paper. Skye frowned, having never before seen Tabitha so intent on note taking. "And you can even use it to summon a herd of Hippogriffs to make all the teachers fly away."

Skye snatched Tabitha's piece of paper away as she started to murmur in agreement. Looking at it, she saw that she had been working on drawing a cartoon picture of what Skye assumed was Harry Potter being eaten by a giant Snitch. She hadn't taken the news of him being Gryffindor's new Seeker all too well.

"Hey, that's mine," Tabitha whined, snatching it back.

"You haven't been listening to a word I've said, have you? Didn't you hear Professor Flitwick? If you don't review the spells we've covered so far, you'll fall behind," she scolded her.

"What's the point? We did most of these spells last year," she complained.

"Yes, and you're expected to be able to recall those and the second year spells," Skye reasoned.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Tabitha yelped.

"Flitwick must have said it a thousand times already," Skye huffed.

"I give up. They should just expel me and snap my wand," Tabitha sighed, lying down on the floor and resting her head in Skye's lap.

Skye frowned down at her in concern. She just hadn't been the same since the Quidditch trials. Thankfully her and Mikey had come up with a plan to cheer her up. Glancing around, she spotted him at the end of the corridor talking to a girl. As she gave him a quick wave, he headed in their direction. Mikey sat down, grabbing Tabitha's drawing and admiring it.

"Nice work," he complimented her.

"Who was that?" Skye questioned him.

"Lilith Griffin," Mikey responded.

"The Slytherin? Looks like Mikey is conversing with the enemy," Skye joked, looking down at Tabitha.

"Whoop-de-doo," Tabitha replied, deadpan.

"How about we just tell her?" Mikey interjected.

"They've finally come to lock me up in Azkaban?" Tabitha sighed.

"What's… oh never mind. Me and Mikey have come up with a scheme to cheer you up. What's the place you've always wanted to explore and make mischief?" Skye teased.

"You mean…" Tabitha perked up.

"That's right, we're going to sneak out and explore, The Forbidden Forest!" Mikey revealed.

"Zonko's Joke Shop!" Tabitha screeched in excitement at the same time.

"Wait, what?" Mikey exclaimed.

"The Forbidden Forest! No way, that's even better," Tabitha squealed.

"Err, maybe we should just go to Zonko's. That seems a lot less dangerous," Skye reasoned, cursing herself that she hadn't thought of that before the Forbidden Forest, of all the places to go.

"No way. You said that's where we're going and that's that," she smiled evilly.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?" Mikey groaned.

"The best adventure of your lives," Tabitha grinned.

XxX

"Lumos," Skye whispered, lighting up the tip of her wand at the edge of the forest.

Despite the fact that the sun hadn't yet set that evening, Skye still felt the need to light her wand as they entered the dark and ominous forest. She felt as if she was being watched from all directions, causing herself to shiver.

"Whose idea was this again?" Mikey quivered.

"It was your brilliant idea," Tabitha chirped, thrilled that they were finally entering the forest.

Mikey and Skye had been trying to convince her all week to go to Zonko's instead, but unfortunately for them the original and excitable Tabitha was back, ready to have the adventure of her life. Slowly, they walked into the forest. Once they had travelled for about five minutes, Skye began muttering under her breath.

"Skye, I thought we agreed not to summon the undead," Tabitha smirked.

"I'm not summoning the undead," she huffed. "I'm using the spell 'colovaria' to turn the tree leaves neon yellow. Hadn't you noticed?"

"I thought it was just something the trees did around here," Tabitha shrugged.

"Why are you doing that?" Mikey asked.

"So we can find our way back out again," Skye explained.

"Smart," Mikey complimented her, nodding.

"Yeah, hopefully it will attract all sorts of creatures in here, too," Tabitha agreed, thrilled about the prospect.

"Not so smart," Mikey gulped.

The group wondered on, their route dictated by the trail of yellow leaves behind them. Eventually, they stopped, seemingly distracted by a high pitched tittering that could be heard in the distance.

"Maybe we should turn back. I don't like seemingly maniacal laughing," Mikey whimpered.

"It's hardly maniacal," Tabitha scoffed, heading in the direction of the noise.

"What a great idea. Let head towards the creepy laughter," Skye said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Mikey and Skye followed their friend reluctantly, finally stopping at a clearing. The shrilled laughter seemed to surround them, each of them backing up, until they came to a halt, their wands covering the areas around them. Something small and round was thrown into the clearing, rolling to a stop at Skye's feet. Cautiously, Skye bent down to examine it, poking what looked like a smooth blue stone with the end of her wand.

Immediately, she regretted the decision as she was surrounded by a midnight blue smoke, causing her to cough and wheeze. Behind her, she could hear her friends called out her name in alarm, but Skye was distracted, glaring at her hand as her skin turned blue. Slowly, the colour change made its way up her arm and started to rise on her neck.

"Cornish Pixies," Tabitha breathed, as the shrill laughter's source made itself known.

Surrounding them were a dozen or so small creatures that were a vivid blue and had large black eyes. Each of them shrilled and chattered, becoming excitable as Skye glared at her now blue skin. Picking a new target, the Pixies surrounded Mikey, who tried unsuccessfully to swat them away. In retaliation, the Pixies lifted him off the ground. Skye raised her wand, trying to figure out what to do.

"Don't," Tabitha said, grasping her arm. "They'll probably just put him in a tree. It's better we don't go firing spells up there right now."

Skye watched helpless as Mikey was deposited in a tree. Clear of the mischievous Pixies, Tabitha whipped out her wand and took aim.

"Rictusempra," she shouted, invoking a Tickling Charm.

The targeted Pixie made a shrill cackling sound, which Skye guessed was how a Pixie laughed. Despite the fact it probably wasn't the best method to stop them, she could see it at least distracted them enough for them to deal with the situation. Soon, a dozen or so Pixies were cackling together, which was giving Skye a serious headache.

"Guys, help!" Mikey could barely be heard over the Pixies.

"I'm all out of ideas," Tabitha confessed, scratching her head.

"It's ok. I've got this," Skye reassured her, pointing her wand at the ground below the tree. "Spongify."

Then she cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted at Mikey to jump.

"What! Are you crazy?" Mikey bellowed back.

"Just trust me."

"He's not going to do it," Tabitha assessed, folding her arms as she squinted up at the tree.

Next thing they know, Mikey screams we're growing louder as his body plummeted to the ground at an alarming speed.

"Arresto Momentum," Skye yelped, waving her wand.

Mikey's body slowed to some degree, but Skye was disappointed to see the spell hadn't been as effective as she had hoped. Thankfully, as Mikey hit the ground, he bounced up and down as if he had just landed on a trampoline. Running towards him, both girls we're relieved to see he was laughing as he bounced away.

"Now that was fun," he grinned.

"Err, guys. We have a problem," Tabitha warned them, raising her wand at the band of recovering Pixies.

With a glance at each other, the group picked a random direction and scarpered, the need to catch their breath finally winning out over their desperation to escape the mischievous Pixies.

"I think that's enough adventure for one day, don't you?" Mikey glanced between the girls, panting heavily.

"Agreed," Skye said, relieved.

"Right, come on Smurfette, lead the way," Mikey laughed.

"Don't make me regret saving you, Mikey," Skye warned him.

"What's a Smurfette?" Tabitha wondered.

"Never mind. Now come on," Skye ordered the group. "Oh, ummm…"

Skye felt an incredible heat build up in her face. It she wasn't already a deep shade of blue, she would have imagined the colour of her face to be a scarlet red. Maybe she would be able to achieve a nice shade of purple.

"What is it?" Mikey asked, eyebrows raised.

"I might have forgotten to leave a path of yellow leaves. I don't know which way to go," she admitted.

"Well, that's ok. We'll just look around until we can find them again," Tabitha suggested.

Ever the optimist, Tabitha lead her friends in a seemingly random direction, each of them keeping their eyes peeled for bright yellow leaves. After stumbling around for quite a while, it seemed that they had once again managed to find the clearing, now, thankfully, clear of Pixies. Skye immediately spotted the trail of yellow leaves she had left behind.

"Thank Merlin," Skye breathed.

"Guys look!" Tabitha exclaimed.

"What now?" Mikey moaned.

Skye turned around to see what appeared to be a snitch hovering in front of her. Curious, Skye felt the need to reach out in the hope that she could catch it.

"No, you can't grab them," Tabitha warned her, slapping her hand away. "They're incredibly delicate."

Before her, Tabitha held out her hand, the snitch hovering above it before deciding to land. Now that the snitch had stopped whizzing around, Skye could see it wasn't a snitch at all, but an incredibly pudgy yellow bird, with hardly any legs and incredible agility.

"What is it?" Mikey wondered.

"It's a Golden Snidget. They're so rare. I guess Hogwarts must have bred them to play Quidditch before Snitches were invented though," Tabitha explained.

"What? They used to use birds as Snitches? That's so cruel," Skye exclaimed, shocked.

"That's how the game of Quidditch started you know. 150 galleons to the person that could catch the agile and speedy Snidget," Tabitha frowned.

Studying the bird, her face soon softened, ecstatic at her rare find. The image sparked Skye's brain into overdrive. This was her vision. Tabitha was happy over a Snidget, not a Snitch. Skye shook her head, realising her mistake. Soon, the Snidget took off once again, zipping back and forth.

"I think it wants us to follow it," Tabitha suggested, taking a step forward.

"But the yellow leaves go this way," Mikey pointed behind them.

Skye looked between the leaves and the Snidget bouncing around on the spot. As the mist rolled in from behind her, she could have sworn she saw a pair of slitted eyes peering out from the darkness. Skye shook her head, wondering if Trelawney's ramblings we're finally getting to her.

"Let's follow the Snidget," she decided.

The group allowed themselves to be guided by the Snidget, each of them pointing it out when they appeared to lose it. Many times it zipped back, evidently glad they had chosen to follow it. Soon, light could be seen emerging from beyond the branches. Skye felt a deep sense of relief as she could see the outline of the castle within the distance.

"I've never been so relieved to see that castle in my whole life," Mikey sighed happily.

"Thanks a lot, Gally!" Tabitha called, watching as the Snidget zipped off, back into the forest.

"Gally?" Mikey asked, eyebrows raised.

"You know. Like a golden Galleon," she mused.

"Of course. We better get back to our common rooms," Skye frowned.

"What are you going to do about your skin?" Mikey inquired.

"Let's worry about that later. Let's just hope we don't get caught sneaking around. I don't want to explain why I'm blue to a teacher," she sighed, shaking her head.

"Now that I'd like to see," Tabitha grinned.


	6. Chapter 6 - Reflections

**Chapter Six - Reflections**

"Come on Skye, don't look so blue," George chuckled.

In retaliation, Skye decided to lob her pillow at him, content that it managed to hit him in the face before he could stop its trajectory. Despite the collective mind of the Gryffindor Common Room, no one had been able to reverse the colour of her skin. Someone had managed to make the addition of big fluffy white clouds, but no one had admitted to it once Tabitha had sworn revenge on the person who did it.

"Haven't I suffered enough?" She sighed.

In the end, they decided they had to take action and took Skye to the hospital wing, claiming it was a prank from a Ravenclaw student. Madam Pomfrey obviously had her suspicions, considering it had been so difficult to remove. In the end, they had only started to make it fade after a consultation from Professor Flitwick and a fowl white potion that Skye has to bathe in for a week.

"It's fine. It's faded a lot since I last saw you," Mikey confirmed.

"Yeah, just a few more baths in some curdling milk and you'll be yourself in no time," Tabitha cheered.

Skye shuddered, recalling the smell of the stuff she had the bathe in. Whatever magic those Pixies worked, it sure was a lot more powerful than Skye would have guessed. Irritated, Skye picked at a stray thread on the bed sheets, plotting all the ways she could exact revenge on unsuspecting Pixies.

"Have I mentioned that I hate Cornish Pixies?" Skye scowled.

"Once or twice," Fred mused. "Perhaps a million times."

"I wonder what they were doing in the Forbidden Forest. Scotland sure is a long way from Cornwall," Tabitha wondered.

"How did you distract them again?" George asked.

"Tickling charm. Why do you ask?" Mikey questioned, eyebrows raised.

"My idea by the way," Tabitha added, looking smug.

"We were wondering if we could capture a few to put in Filch's office. They seem like his kind of creatures to me," Fred grinned.

"If you do, make sure they stay far, far away from me," Skye said sternly, never wanting to see a Cornish Pixie again in her life.

"Noted. So when are you free to resume mischievous activities?" George inquired.

"Never," Skye and Mikey shot back at the same time.

"As if I would let you live a life on the straight and narrow," Tabitha snorted.

XxX

Finally free of the hospital wing, Skye had the unfortunate opportunity to catch up with the Divination lesson she had missed whilst living life as a popular primary colour. Surprisingly, however, Skye was having a merry time, since they were studying Tessomancy, and she had the opportunity to drink copious amounts of tea. A Christmas miracle, Skye mused as she stared at the bottom of her teacup.

"I see a club, a dog and… it looks like a slice of cake," she pointed out, reaching for her copy of Unfogging the Future.

"You do not need it, my dear. Let the symbols speak to you," Trelawny directed her.

Skye looked down at the cup, wondering if the slice of cake meant she was hungry. It almost seemed to be a crime to have so much tea to hand without a good scone filled with jam and cream. Focusing, she remembered that the club meant an attack, and from that point her brain seemed to work faster than she could comprehend.

"There is going to be an attack on a close friend and I think the key to solving the problem will be to find new friendship," Skye announced.

As soon as she realised what she had said, Skye winced. It seems she was getting as bad as Trelawny, predicting unfortunate events. Why couldn't she just see a sun and predict happiness and rainbows for the future?

"Excellent, dear," the Professor's oversized eyes shone with pride.

"Is there any way to find out more?" Skye asked, panicked for her friends.

"Here, why don't you try this?" Trelawny suggested, pushing what looked like a hand mirror in her direction.

"A scrying mirror? Couldn't we try the crystal ball, Professor? I've never tried Catoptromancy before," Skye begged her.

"The mirror calls to you, dear. It has a message," Trelawny said, pushing the mirror towards Skye.

Skye didn't particularly want to communicate with a mirror right now, but it seemed she didn't have a choice in the matter. Picking it up, Skye envisioned the tea cup and thought about the meaning behind it. Unfortunately, the mirror disagreed. It had something else to show her.

"What do you see?" Trelawny's voice echoed from a far distance.

"A mirror," Skye replied, locked in a trance.

"Don't worry, dear. Not all of us can make use of all Divination tools," Trelawny comforted her, taking the mirror from her grasp.

Skye was about to protest when a rapid knocking came from the entrance. Even more surprising was the head of Albus Dumbledore popping up from the hole in the floor. She didn't know what was so shocking about the Headmaster climbing up a ladder, but it was certainly a odd sight indeed, like it didn't belong.

"Forgive my intrusions," the wise Headmaster apologised.

"Not at all, Headmaster. You have arrived exactly on time," Trelawny's head bobbed as she looked towards the fire as if it was a clockface.

"Indeed. Might I have a word with Miss Knight?" He asked.

"Of course. Please focus on your fire-omens over the Christmas break, dear. I see we will be covering them in our next lesson, but there may be some disruptions to contend with," she forewarned before busying herself, bustling around the room and heading out of sight.

"Professor Trelawney has informed me you have been making great progress here, Miss Knight," Dumbledore complimented her.

"I have to admit, I thought that these lessons would just invite bad omens, and although I was plagued by visions in the beginning, it seems that channeling them means they are rarely sprung upon me anymore," Skye explained.

"I'm glad to hear that," Dumbledore nodded. "It may serve you well to continue exploring your visions with Professor Trelawney next year when you choose your third year options."

Skye made a slight squeaking sound, which she covered up with a cough. She had always thought that taking extra lessons meant she wouldn't have to choose Divination as a subject for next year. Cursing her bad luck, Skye wondered if she could get away with it if she took the O.W.L for it this year.

"Right," Skye muttered, mind busy with plotting her escape.

"I wonder, has your new insight provided any revelations on past premonitions?" Dumbledore questioned her.

Skye felt like a coward to admit that she had tried not to dwell on them during these sessions. It was like she was really afraid to find out what they meant, despite being desperate to know. So much for trying to change what she predicted.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I've just been getting bits and pieces of the moment and they tend to centre around my friends more than anything else," she admitted.

"It makes sense that you would be in tune with the future of those you love," Dumbledore nodded.

"Professor, could I, um… give you some advice?" Skye suggested, feeling a bit silly.

"Of course. A wise man does not ignore the wisdom of others," he mused.

"I think you need to keep an eye on your mirror," she told him, looking down at the floor.

Eyes rising to face the Headmaster, Skye almost expected him to laugh and ask her what on earth she was talking about. Instead, Dumbledore appeared to be studying her intently, nodding.

"That's not a warning or anything. At least, I don't think it is..." she gushed. "I just think you should… keep an eye on it."

"Thank you, Miss Knight. I appreciate you telling me," he smiled kindly.

Despite his grateful reply, Skye couldn't help but feel like an idiot, rambling about something she didn't understand. Cheeks tinged a slight pink, she racked her brains for something to say as the Headmaster smiled down at her.

"What are your plans for Christmas, Professor?" She said awkwardly.

"I will be here for the duration of the Christmas period, Miss Knight. I have always found the merriment here most festive over the season," he revealed, happily.

"Well, I hope you have a nice time," Skye smiled, feeling slightly awkward about making small talk with Albus Dumbledore.

"To you too, although perhaps I could offer you a slight word of warning not to try Mr Hart's Christmas punch should he offer you any. It is an experiment he has never really perfected," Dumbledore advised, eyes gleaming in amusement.

Skye blinked, slightly shocked. Thankfully, she recovered quickly, reminded by the fact that by this time next week, she would be spending the best Christmas of her life with one of her best friends.


	7. Chapter 7 - Christmas Callers

**Chapter Seven - Christmas Callers**

"Tabby," Toby whispered. "Oh, Tabitha."

Tabitha mumbled something, re-adjusting herself into a cocoon of blankets, before seemingly falling back into the beyond. Skye shook her head at Toby. He should know better than to think shoving his face into hers was enough to wake her up. Instead, Skye counted down on her fingers; three, two, one.

"Merry Christmas!" They roared, each of them jumping on the bed.

Tabitha bolted upwards, her body rocked by the two idiots in her life that were bobbing up and down, evidently trying to recreate the tremors of an earthquake.

"I'm up, I'm up," she sighed, rubbing at her sleepy eyes.

With a faint yawn and a stretch, Tabitha seemed to grumble as the two grinning faces prompting her to get up. With the promise she could remain in her pajamas for most of the day, Skye dragged her downstairs where her parents were waiting, surrounded by an abundance of brightly coloured gifts.

"Happy Christmas, Tabby cat," her father greeted her with a ruffle of her hair.

Immediately, he turned to clap Toby on the back and gave Skye a bright smile before setting himself down to watch the proceedings. Skye herself perched on the floor, watching as Tabitha began shaking at boxes, trying to guess what each one contained.

"You know, you'd be a lot more accurate if you opened them," Skye laughed.

"What's the fun in that? I believe this one happens to be the Fanged Frisbees I asked for. You never know when you'll need a good distraction," Tabitha replied with a wink.

"We didn't get you any Fanged Frisbees, Tabitha. You're enough of a trouble maker without them," her mother scolded her.

Skye watched as Tabitha unwrapped a box of Zonko's Fanged Frisbees, her mother giving her husband a stern glare as he brushed a hand through his dark locks nervously.

"Here you are, dear. This one's for you," he chirped.

Mr Hart pulled out what looked like a box wrapped in an old newspaper. Mrs Hart, seemingly content to be distracted,and completely oblivious to the wrappings, tore it open to reveal a slender box.

"How did you know?" Mrs Hart smiled, turning to allow her husband to place the golden locket found within around her neck.

Tabitha and Skye shared a knowing look as they recalled Mrs Hart giving them specific instruction on exactly the present she wanted. Skye had originally thought she didn't give her husband enough credit. That was until two days ago, when he had consulted the two girls for Christmas gift ideas.

"You realise that if you don't start opening your presents, Tabby is going to open them for you," Toby said, nodding at a small pile that Tabitha was currently eyeing up.

"They're for me?" Skye breathed.

"Of course. Just a couple of small things we thought you might like, dear," Mrs Hart said, admiring her new piece of jewellery.

That morning, Skye acquired a series of books to aid her studies (as well as a couple for interest), an assortment of sweets from Sugarplum's Sweet Shop and (Skye's favourite) an inkwell that allowed her to make notes on her books, but could also make them appear or disappear with a tap of her wand. Toby even sheepishly handed over a thin package to both girls, each containing a notebook they could use to write notes to each other.

"I have something for each of you guys too," Skye announced, handing out the gifts she had stashed away.

"You shouldn't waste your money on us, dear," Mrs Hart frowned.

"They're kind of silly really. Muggle things. I just didn't know what you guys would like…" Skye mumbled, embarrassed.

Skye watched as Mr and Mrs Hart opened their gifts respectively. Mrs Hart seemed pleased with her soft cotton scarf, but Mr Hart seemed perplexed by the kids chemistry set Skye had bought him.

"What is it?" Mr Hart inquired.

"It's kind of like the equivalent of muggle potions. You can grow crystals and do different err… experiments," she blushed.

Skye watched as Mr Hart pulled out a pair of goggles from the box and tried them on. She giggled noticing how much of a mad scientist he looked with his wild hair.

"How interesting," he noted, scanning the booklet.

"What's this?" Toby asked, holding up his colourful cube.

"It's a rubix cube. It's like a puzzle," Skye explained taking the cube and mixing up the colours. "Now you have to get it back to the way it was."

Handing it back, Toby began twisting the cube, trying to replicate Skye's movements, eyebrows furrowed. Smiling, Skye turned to Tabitha who was already sketching in her notebook. Looking over her shoulder, Skye saw a Golden Snidget fluttering about the page, which was charmed to bring the drawings to life.

"How did you do this?" she gasped.

"Professor Flitwick may have given me some help," Skye grinned.

"So, what have you gotten Skye, Tabby cat?" Toby wondered, observing the lack of gifts.

"I want to give it to her later…" she glared at him.

"So, you forgot to get her something?" He challenged.

"No!" She shot back.

"Right. I suppose I better start on my punch," Mr Hart announced, breaking up the argument.

In response, his family seemed to turn slightly green.

"Perhaps we should start the dinner preparations before that, dear," Mrs Hart sighed.

"Of course, but what's Christmas without a little punch, eh?" He beamed.

XxX

Tabitha hovered around Skye, bouncing about the room like an excitable puppy. Skye groaned, clutching her stomach, wondering how on earth Tabitha could move around having consumed more than she ever had.

"Fantastic this, Skye. How these muggles can accomplish flame colour changes without magic I'll never know," he beamed.

Currently he had set up his chemistry set and was squirting water into the flame of a Bunsen burner to change its colour. Considering he could accomplish the exact same thing in a manner of seconds with magic, Skye appreciated his enthusiasm.

"I think it has something to do with what chemicals you put in and how they react with the flame," Skye recalled, thinking back to her science lessons.

"Skye, someone is here to see you," Mrs Hart announced.

Skye glanced up, shocked to see that standing alongside Mrs Hart was Skye's own mother. Swiftly, she stood up, finding herself embedded within her mother's warm embrace.

"Hello, my little lion," she whispered into her ear.

Soon, Skye was settled on the sofa, practically beaming as she talked about everything there was to possibly catch up on that couldn't fit into her regular letters.

"... next thing we know, our Professor, who is normally smaller than I am, is hitting his head on the ceiling! Tabitha had missed the target and hit him with the Engorgement Charm," she laughed, eyes sparkling.

"Well, how on earth are we supposed to hit something as small as a grain of rice anyway?" Tabitha huffed, a faint smile on her lips.

"I'm so glad I got to meet you," Mrs Knight rambled. "I know I'm not too much of an expert when it comes to this wizarding stuff. You'll set her right though, won't you dear?"

"Of course, Mrs Knight. Skye won't find herself a step out of line with me around," Tabitha emphasised sweetly.

Skye practically snorted at the prospect of Tabitha Hart keeping her on the straight and narrow, earning herself a glare. However, nothing could penetrate the feeling of pure happiness that she got as her mother beamed at her best friend.

"I worry she's picked up her father's mischievous side sometimes. I remember him telling me about the time he used magical hair spray on students before blasting them with wind before it set so they would be stuck with gravity defying hair for an entire week," she exclaimed.

"Shocking," Tabitha mused, an evil twinkle in her eye.

"Your tea, Jackie," Mrs Hart intervened before Tabitha could get any more inspiration.

Skye shook her head, wondering what poor soul Tabitha had that prank in mind for. She watched as Mrs Hart gently rested a floating tea set on the table, complete with biscuits, before serving the dark liquid in tea cups with a flick of her wand. Mrs Knight scrambled for the cup as Skye waited for hers to float over.

"Wow, and I thought Skye was the tea addict," Tabitha joked, hands waiting for her own cup.

"If, if I could trouble you for s-some sugar?" Skye's mother stammered, her cup rattling gently against the saucer.

"Of course. Just the one?" Mrs Hart inquired.

Mrs Knight nodded, her eyes pinned to Mrs Hart as she flicked her wand to serve the milk and sugar. Skye glanced up from her steaming cup, her gaze drawn by the increased clattering of cup against saucer. Her mother was shaking, lashing out as the sugar approached, spilling her tea onto her lap. Her shriek filled the room.

"Jackie? Oh, Jackie don't move. I can have you cleaned up and mended in a second," Mrs Hart raised her wand.

"No, no more. Please. Make it stop," her mother shrieked.

Skye approached her mother tentatively, eyes wide with concern.

"It's ok, Mum. Shh… it's ok. You're safe," she whispered, reached out for her mother's arm.

Swiftly, she jerked back, her eyes blazing over as Skye had witnessed all too often.

"I am not worthy. Please, I beg your mercy. I am filth. I am mud," she muttered, her body swaying back and forth.

Skye clenched her fists, her head sagging in defeat. She couldn't help her now.

"I'll go and get the nurse," Skye sighed, heading out the room.

Behind her the muttering of her mother droned on. Echoing on through her mind as Skye lay in bed that night, reminiscing on the moments when she was so clear, so in tune with the world. What had happened to her? Why was she like this? She never got any answers.

"Hey, Skye?" Tabitha whispered, nudging Skye softly.

"I'm awake," she breathed, wiping away her tears.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. I know it's hard to watch, but I suppose I'm used to it," she sighed.

"Tell me," she prompted her.

"Tell you what?"

"I don't know. How you're feeling? What you think? This is Mikey's job. He can read you and always knows what to say. I just…" She grunted in frustration.

"You don't think any less of me, do you?"

Her voice was small. Barely a whisper.

"I don't understand. Why would that make me think less of you?"

Skye smiled.

"Thanks, Tabitha."

"Your so confusing," she muttered, silence filling the room. "Do you want your Christmas present now?"

Skye turned over, her attention drawn by the light padding of Tabitha's feet as she crawled out of bed and blended into the dark room. Gazing toward the slight shuffling in the direction of 'the forbidden closet', (Skye was convinced Tabitha had shoved her junk in their instead of tidying her room before her arrival) she squinted curiously into the darkness, watching as the girl approached, gift in hand.

"Merry Christmas, Skye."

Skye gasped as a fluffy bundle was placed on the bed, its weight shifting as it explored the soft dwelling. Slowly, the small kitten approached her, blinking at her surprised face.

"Tabitha," Skye gasped, her eternal thanks dying on her lips as she realised the reality of the situation. "Your Mum is going to kill you."


	8. Chapter 8 - A Snake in the Grass

**Chapter Eight - A Snake in the Grass**

Skye hurried along the long corridor, towards the Divination Classroom, as she cursed herself for being distracted by Snitch's pure cuteness. The ginger kitten had gotten her and Tabitha into a world of trouble over Christmas, having been discovered when Tabitha had screamed as the mischievous kitten attacked her feet during the night. Fortunately, recent events had made Mrs Hart sympathetic towards Skye, who was able to keep the kitten on the basis that Tabitha would be looking after it during the holidays. Upon entering the stifling room, Skye was taken aback to see two familiar faces smirking in her direction.

"Fred? George? You can't be in here. I have a lesson with Professor Trelawney," she explained.

"As I had predicted before the winter break, our fire-omen session has been disrupted, nevertheless we shall prevail," the Professor rasped, emerging from across the room.

Skye nodded slightly and took a seat at the table the twins were sat at, close to the sweltering fire. Meanwhile, the Professor bobbed around the room, gathering the tools she would use for the lesson. A odd combination of herbs and animal bones were required apparently.

"Pfft, of course her 'prediction' came true. She was the one who gave us detention," Fred muttered under his breath.

"What did you do?" Skye raised an eyebrow in their direction, thinking it must be bad considering the Professor rarely gave out detentions.

"I think she was scared of our power. We predicted she would come across hard times in the future, and she did in all fairness," George grinned.

"Do these hard times have something to do with the scorch marks around the room?" Skye whispered, trying to suppress a smile.

"Perhaps," Fred snickered.

"Also Skye, may we say how offended we are," George pouted exaggeratedly.

"Why?" Skye's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Well, it seems that over Christmas you acquired a ginger feline that has been causing Gryffindors a mountain of trouble…" Fred began.

"...And we were very much offended when we found out that said feline was not named for its obvious inspiration that is… us," George stated simply.

Skye grinned, agreeing that the ginger kitten displayed a behaviour much too similar to the boys in front of her. It seemed that since their return Snitch had been causing all sorts of trouble; climbing the curtains in the common room, attacking unsuspecting students feet from various hiding places, and scratching at bed posts to make a group of first years think their room had a werewolf concealed within.

"To be honest, I did name her before she revealed her dark side. If you like, she can be an honorary Weasley," Skye laughed.

"Perfect," George agreed, satisfied.

"Now, let us gaze into the depths of the fire and light the path that is the future," Professor Trelawney droned. "Each of you, open your third eyes and consider the flames. Watch as they shape themselves, as well as their intensity, and write down what you see."

Skye leaned on her elbow and considered the flames, immediately distracted as George began writing, his tongue stuck out in concentration. She looked over to see 'a bunch of flames' and 'high intensity, may die from heat exhaustion' being written down. With a shake of her head she tried to concentrate, watching as the flames seemed to crackle and grow violent, a badger amongst their midst.

"Professor, what does a badger in the flames mean?" Skye wondered.

"Dinner?" Fred muttered.

Skye tried her best to ignore him.

"Why not try to interpret it yourself, dear?" The Professor prompted her.

"Yeah, Skye, it's so obvious," George added under his breath.

"Hufflepuffs are secret pyromaniacs?" Fred suggested innocently.

"Hot damn," George grinned.

Skye spluttered, at a miss on what to say.

"What was that, Mr Weasley?" The Professor inquired, her beady eyes fixed on them.

"Maybe it's about a Hufflepuff," Fred answered innocently.

"A reasonable assumption, Mr Weasley. It can also represent aggression and the need for defence," she added.

"The flames were kind of violent…" Skye divulged to the group. "So… a Hufflepuff is in trouble?"

Skye felt a bad feeling stirring in her stomach as she guessed at the meaning behind the fire-omen. The words Dumbledore had spoken to her before Christmas echoed in her mind, ' _it makes sense that you would be in tune with the future of those you love_ '. But she would know if Mikey was in some sort of trouble, wouldn't she? Maybe it was just because he was sick…

"Professor, I don't feel too well. Could I please be excused?" She said softly.

"Yes, dear. You do look a bit flushed and looking into the future can be a taxing experience on both the body and mind," she nodded. "Perhaps you two could escort her back to the Gryffindor common room?"

"Certainly, Professor," Fred nodded, looking relieved.

As the three exited the classroom and climbed down the ladder, Skye began pacing down the corridor, the twins struggling to keep up.

"What's the rush?" George asked, a worried frown on his face.

"I need to go see Mikey," she told them.

"He's not actually a pyromaniac you know," Fred joked half-heartedly.

"I know. I just need to…. check something," she replied, lips pressed together tightly.

"Come on, Fred," George instructed, tugging at his brother's sleeve.

Skye gave George an appreciative smile and a small wave as the twins headed towards their common room. As much as she appreciated their concern, this was something she needed to talk to Mikey about alone.

XxX

"Please," she begged the Hufflepuff that was heading towards the direction of the kitchens.

"I haven't seen him recently. Isn't he sick or something?" the girl in pigtails asked.

"Yes, but this is important. I need to see him," Skye's voice grew frustrated.

"Maybe you should just let him rest. He didn't seem too good a week ago…" she frowned.

Skye sighed, her lips tightening in frustration.

"Could you go see if Adam is in there instead?" She pleaded with the girl.

"I suppose. It's obviously important to you," the girl sighed.

"Thank you," Skye gushed.

Leaning against the wall, Skye's head filled with doubt. He was just sick, right? Everyone gets sick once in a while. Except he wasn't in the hospital wing. But maybe Madam Pomfrey had told him it would be best to rest in his own bed. Maybe…

"Oh, err, it's you," Adam greeted her awkwardly.

"Hey, Adam, sorry about this, but um… is Mikey ok?" She rushed her words, eager to get an answer.

Skye watched as Adam's mouth hung open to answer and stayed there for a long time until he had the sense to close it. The silence was deafening.

"I should go," he pointed to his common room, aiming to turn in that direction.

"Don't. Move."

Skye had never aimed her wand at another person outside of class before. Well, with the exception of a cat, she supposed. Thankfully for Adam the worse Skye intended to hit him with was a Tickling Charm. But he didn't know that.

"He told me not to tell you guys. He knew you would freak," he muttered, glancing towards her wand.

"But it was bad enough that you knew we should know. That's why you've been avoiding us," she sighed.

"He thinks he can deal with it himself," Adam admitted sadly.

"Tell me," she demanded.

"There's this girl, Lilith Griffin," he began.

"The Slytherin in our year?" Skye confirmed.

Adam nodded with a grimace.

"She's been picking on him. Calling him out in the halls, following him, even using him as a target for jinxes," he admitted.

Skye's hand gripped her wand even tighter. Mikey was the nicest person in this entire school. There wasn't a single person who would say otherwise and some girl was using him as a target. It was unforgivable.

"Why is he pretending to be sick?" she raged.

"I think he got hit with a levitated inkwell. It bruised his face and he didn't want anyone to see," Adam ran a hand through his hair.

Skye turned on her heels, heading back to the Gryffindor common room whilst tucking her wand back up her sleeve. Not too long after, Skye could hear who she supposed to be Adam pelting towards her at a great speed.

"What are you going to do?" He huffed, tired from his short sprint.

"I'm going to make sure she doesn't bother anyone ever again," she growled.

"Is that really a good idea?" Adam commented.

"I'm just going to talk with her," Skye sighed.

"And what's Tabitha going to do?"

Skye pursed her lips. The honest answer was 'jinx her into oblivion', but that was just the sort of thing Mikey had wanted to avoid in the first place. It seemed that she was going to need a lengthy talk with the fiery girl before they confronted anyone, otherwise Mikey was never going to forgive them.

"I'll make sure she doesn't get into trouble," she told him, wondering if it was possible.

"Good luck with that," he snorted. "Seriously, though. Watch out for Griffin. She may look sweet, but she's a real snake in the grass."

"Yeah, well I'm a lion, and I eat snakes for breakfast."


	9. Chapter 9 - Duel of Sevens

**Chapter Nine - Duel of Sevens**

"Tabitha, you need to watch what you're doing," Skye sighed.

She was pretty sure that Tabitha had stirred her potion with her wand and waved the spoon over the cauldron, instead of the other way around. However, that wasn't very surprising given that she had been glaring over at Lilith Griffin for the entirety of the lesson.

"So you want to play it that way. If you stare at me, I'll stare right back you nasty little dung heap," Tabitha continued to muttered under her breath.

Skye stole a quick glance in Lilith's direction to see that she had very much picked up on Tabitha's malice and was retaliating with a cold glare of her own. She was starting to think that approaching her after class, 'when she least expected it', was a concept that had well and truly been thrown out the window.

"Hart, this potion wouldn't even cause a person to blink, let alone fall asleep," Snape sneered as she deposited her sample of Sleeping Draught on his desk on the way out. "I want twelve inches of parchment on what went wrong by next lesson."

"Yes, Professor."

Skye could have sworn she saw Snape's emotionless face crack a bit, but who could blame him? Usually, Tabitha would retaliate to the point of no return. However, today other things took priority and she wasn't surprised when she emerged on the corridor to find Griffin already waiting, a couple of Slytherins lurking behind her as backup. Prompted by her friend, Griffin looked up at them, her dark green eyes narrowing. With a flick of her platinum blond hair, contained within a velvet green headband, she maneuvered her way into their path.

"Have you got a problem with me, Hart?" She grunted.

"You bet I do, Griffin. You've been giving my friend a hard time," Tabitha said through gritted teeth.

Lilith's eyes rested on Skye, causing them to scrunch up slightly as her mouth tilted to the side.

"Never seen her before," Lilith shrugged.

In that moment, Skye felt like she may as well have been invisible for the entirety of her Hogwarts life.

"Not this one. Mikey Felton. Hufflepuff," Tabitha barked.

"Don't tell me he's still blubbering over his spilt ink," Lilith sighed.

"Spilt ink? You hit him in the face with that inkwell and left a bruise," Skye told her.

"So. It's just a bruise," she shrugged.

"No. It's not just a bruise. You hurt him and you've taunted him. You're a bully, but he's too nice to challenge you about it," Skye yelled, angry.

"'Too nice'? More like too scared. A weakling who sends someone else to fight his battles deserves all he gets if you ask me," Lilith argued.

"He is not weak," Skye growled.

"Prove it. If he faces me in a duel and wins, I'll leave him alone, but if I win, he'll have to suffer the consequences," she smirked.

"As if that's fair. Why should he have the pleasure of kicking your but? I'm up first, Griffin," Tabitha challenged, whipping out her wand and pointing it at the girl.

As quick as a flash, Lilith mirrored Tabitha's stance, aiming her wand at her chest, tensed to strike. Skye's heart hammered against her chest as the situation escalated.

"Flipendo!"

Skye yelped as her body was sent flying backwards, her breath escaping her body as she hit the floor hard.

"Skye!" Tabitha shouted, turning around.

Skye whipped out her wand as she stood, just in time to see Tabitha targeted as her back was turned in concern for her friend.

"Tarantallegra," Skye retaliated.

Lilith's legs jerked around in a strange jig, causing Tabitha to snort from behind. Even a couple of the Slytherins seemed to be suppressing a smile.

"You wretched little… Get her," she barked at her back-up, causing her little gang to stand attention, preparing to enter the fray.

"What was that about fighting your own battles?" Skye taunted her.

"Bring it on," Lilith snapped.

"Get back, Skye. She's mine," Tabitha announced, raising her wand once again.

"Fine, if you want to all take me on so much. I propose a Duel of Sevens," she smirked.

"You're on!" Tabitha accepted.

"What is going on here?" Professor Snape questioned them pointedly, emerging from the Potions classroom.

Skye's heart stopped as she realised they all had their wands pointed at each other in the corridor. Snape's dark eyes swept the scene and rested on the Slytherins.

"I suggest that if you don't want to be picking the eyes from beetles for my store cupboard for the rest of your school life, that you quickly move along," Snape drawled, eyes narrowed.

At that, Skye and Tabitha scarpered, not needing to be told twice. If anything they were incredibly lucky. If they had been firing spells at each other when Snape had arrived, their punishment would have been far worse than picking the eyes from beetles, if that was at all possible.

"That sneaky little witch!" Tabitha growled. "Trying sneaky tactics like that on my friend. Next time, I'll show her sneaky tactics."

"Err… Tabitha? You weren't really serious about that duel challenge, were you?" Skye frowned.

"What? What challenge?" She grumbled.

"Lilith said something about a 'Duel of Sevens'? What even is that?" Skye wondered.

"Oh, well it's a duel," Tabitha began.

"I got that part," Skye huffed.

"Yeah, but it's a duel with seven opponents on each team. It's complete chaos, yet definitely more true to real life. I mean it's not like another opponent if going to stand there while you duel someone else in a real battle," Tabitha finished.

"And you agreed to that?" Skye gasped.

"Oh, come on, Skye. It's not like that coward is going to go through with it," Tabitha rolled her eyes.

Skye raised an eyebrow, frowning as she thought about the look of pure fury on Lilith's face once Skye had hit her with that Jelly-Leg Jinx.

"I sure hope so."

XxX

"Tabitha!"

Skye looked up sleepily from her bowl of porridge to see Mikey approach the Gryffindor table, an angry look on his face. Typically, she would have been shocked to see such a foreign emotion on what was usually a happy and carefree kid, but her eyes were drawn to the yellowing bruise on the side of Mikey's face, that was still slightly swollen.

"Mikey, we've been so worried. Are you ok?" Skye asked him, concerned.

"No, Skye. I'm not ok. Do you want to know why?" He retorted.

Mikey's body shook with anger as he stared daggers in Tabitha's direction. In response, the girl's brown eyes narrowed, her fists clenched under the table as they occasionally flicked to the corner of his face.

"It's because, according to the whole school, I'm going to be facing Lilith Griffin in a Duel of Sevens!" He barked.

Skye gulped.

"Look, Mikey. There is no way…"

"Hey, Mikey. Have you picked the full seven for your battle, yet?" George interrupted Tabitha.

"If not, you can always count on us," Fred beamed.

Mikey crossed his arms, continuing to glare at Tabitha as the reality of the situation dawned on her face.

"Look, Mikey. You can't just blame Tabitha for this. I wanted to confront her too. I was just so angry at what she was doing to you," Skye admitted. "Then I hit her with that Jinx…"

"You what?" Mikey exclaimed.

"Looks like Skye has upgraded from taking on cats," George quipped.

"This isn't funny, guys. I was dealing with it and now you've just made it ten times worse," he sulked, his eyes watering.

"I'm sor…"

"No, Skye. Don't apologise," Tabitha demanded. "We're not in the wrong here. I know you're not one to make a fuss or whatever it is you're doing, but if it was one of us that had to deal with this you would have marched right over to her and jinxed her yourself. Or I don't know, killed her with friendship, or whatever you Hufflepuffs do. Am I wrong?"

Mikey frowned, thinking about what she had said. In the end, he calmed, his face converting back to his natural state, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned in his content.

"Can you be killed with friendship?" Fred wondered.

"I'm pretty sure we're all about to be if we actually go through with this duel," Skye muttered.

"So, are we in?" George asked.

"Are you sure? I don't want you guys getting hurt…" Mikey frowned.

"Great, so that's me, George, Mikey, Tabby cat, Skye," Fred counted everyone out on his fingers bringing their group to a grand total of five.

"Adam wants to help too," Mikey chirped up.

Fred added a sixth person to his count.

"But who is going to be number seven?" Skye wondered.

"How about a tactician."

The group turned around to see a Ravenclaw approach them. Skye seemed to recall he was called Luke, but she didn't really know all too much about him, other than the fact they were in the same year.

"Err… you are?" Tabitha questioned, clueless.

"Luke Hunter. Look, I know we don't really know each other, but I want to help you with your duel. Even if you don't want me as part of your seven, maybe I could teach you some duelling spells, or help with practise," he offered.

"Why would you do that?" Mikey wondered.

Luke seemed to flick his gaze across the room to the Slytherin table, catching the eye of Lilith who was surrounded by a large group of others, probably discussing the same topic as they were. She smirked at him, her emerald eyes twinkling with malice.

"Let's just say me and Griffin have had a similar disagreement," Luke offered, his eyes flicking back towards Mikey. "I thought that since you stood up to her, maybe it was about time I did too."

"Then let's do it. Having someone who can train us definitely sounds like a good idea," Mikey smiled, sympathetic towards Luke's predicament.

"Thanks, Mikey. I owe you one. Let me know when you're free to practise. I'll look up some useful spells in the meantime," he said, giving them a nod before returning to the Ravenclaw table.

"So, we're really doing this?" Skye squeaked.

"You bet we are," George grinned.

"Time to kick some but," Tabitha cheered.


	10. Chapter 10 - A Sticky Situation

**Chapter Ten - A Sticky Situation**

"Expelliarmus," Mikey bellowed.

Skye grinned as Adam's wand flew out his hand and rolled across the floor. Currently, they were reviewing the spells they had already covered in an abandoned classroom while they waited for everyone to arrive.

"Well, it's about time," Tabitha grumbled, watching as the twins entered the room, followed by Luke.

"Sorry, I got caught up in the library," Luke explained, dumping his bag at the side of the classroom.

"We're just late," Fred smirked.

"Yeah, well maybe I won't tell you about my brilliant plan, since you can't even be bothered to show up on time," she retorted smugly.

"Sorry, Professor," Luke muttered.

" _Your_ brilliant plan?" George questioned, eyebrows raised.

"It's Skye's plan," Mikey added.

"Then let's hear it," Luke prompted her.

"Well, I know you've been saying we shouldn't be too adventurous with our spells," Skye frowned, still a little annoyed to the fact that Luke had dissuaded them from using too many new spells, "but I think I've found a way we can use spells we already know to our advantage and immobilise most of our enemies."

"Now we're talking," George cheered.

"I think when we start the duel, we should use the smokescreen spell," Skye suggested.

"But how is that going to help?" Luke wondered. "The smokescreen goes both ways, so we won't be able to see either."

"Yes, but we won't need to. Not if we use a sticking charm on the back wall and floor and then cast a wind making spell to throw them into it so that they're immobilised," Skye explained.

"I've already told you. We can't waste time trying to learn new and more difficult spells. It's the same with the Shield spell. These spells will take time to master that we just don't have," Luke sighed.

"Yes, but we can already do a wind making spell, thanks to my pranking arsenal, and it's not like we're going to perform a permanent sticking charm," Tabitha argued.

"Why do you need a wind-making spell for a prank?" Adam wondered.

"You shouldn't have asked," Mikey warned him, eyeing up a grinning Tabitha.

"That's great and all, but is a wind spell really going to be strong enough to push back a person?" Fred asked.

"Thank you for volunteering, Fred," Tabitha chirped.

"Spongify, adhereo," Skye muttered, aiming her wand at the back wall and floor.

Mikey, Skye and Tabitha all converged on Fred's position. Fred looked slightly nervous as the three approached him, wands outstretched. Skye nodded, commanding them to take aim.

"Ventos Duo," they called together.

Suddenly, a strong wind filled the room, blowing around everyone's hair. However, that was nothing compared to the force that Fred was experiencing. His whole body was forced backwards, fixing to a single point on the floor as he landed, causing him to spring up and down like he had landed on a trampoline. The three cut off their spell, watching as Fred seemingly tried to pull himself off the ground, his face straining with the effort.

"Can't even lift my arm," he grinned.

"You see. If we all converge on the same point, it's bound to effect a couple of them. Plus, it can be even stronger if you guys learn 'Ventos' too," Mikey grinned.

"Impressive," George praised, proceeding to launch a screwed up paper ball at his brother's face.

"How long am I going to be stuck for?" Fred frowned, giving his brother a glare.

"A couple of minutes, just enough time to hit our enemy with targeted spells to properly immobilise, or disarm them," Skye smiled.

"This could work," Luke murmured.

"Of course it's going to work," Tabitha beamed, giving him a slap on the back. "Skye's evil genius hasn't failed us yet."

"Alright! Teach me the spell, Skye," Adam pleaded.

"Sure. We'll start with the simple version first, and then if you get the hang of that you can see if you can try the stronger version," she instructed him.

From that point the group proceeded to generate blasts of wind from the tips of their wands, Fred joining them once the Sticking spell had worn off, after proceeding to give his brother a playful punch for hitting him with a paper ball. Impressed with their progress, Skye started to wonder if they could try and practise that Shield spell in their own time, but soon became distracted when she was pelted with something.

"Hey!" She complained.

"What?" Adam replied, looking confused.

"Someone hit me with something."

"Oh, sorry. Maybe it was blown over from my wind spell," he suggested.

Skye was about to agree, until something else hit her on the forehead. She looked at the ground, her eyes resting on a slither of broken chalk. Suddenly, Mikey let out a wail, proceeding to hide behind Luke as a chair floated around the room.

"Cut it out, Peeves," Tabitha barked.

Suddenly the ghost materialised, the chair dropping from his grasp and crashing to the ground.

"Looky, look. I can make wind without a wand!" He boasted.

Skye screwed her face up in disgust as the ghost proceeded to make loud farting noises as he flew around the room, zoning in on where Mikey was hiding behind Luke.

"Gotcha," he taunted toward them.

Next thing they knew the ghost had disappeared, Mikey letting out a small squeak as they tried to figure out where the ghost would reappear. In the silence, Skye heard something that sounded like a marble rolling across the floor, her eyes shifting towards it's direction. However, before Skye could locate the source, a ploom of swamp green gas emerged, slowly creeping its way toward them. Quickly, the group scarpered, proceeding to evacuate the classroom before the gas overwhelmed them. Each of them emerged still holding their breath, having spent long enough at Hogwarts to know what a dung bomb looked like.

"How does he keep finding us?" Adam whined.

"Every training session!" Tabitha growled.

"Maybe it's for the best. I've got a lot of work to do with exams looming," Luke admitted.

"Let's call it a day," Mikey sighed. "Maybe we can get in one or two more group sessions around our exams. Otherwise, we'll just have to practise on our own, or in smaller groups."

Bidding each other goodbye, the group split off, each of them heading towards their respective common rooms, Tabitha grumbling all the way about Peeves and his antics.

"You know Skye, that plan of yours is really impressive," George commented on the way.

"Yeah, maybe you could put some of those smarts to a much better use," Fred suggested.

"Oh, no. Get your own evil genius, boys. This one is mine," Tabitha said possessively.

Skye blushed as they squabbled over her so called 'evil genius'. All the while, her mind was working overtime trying to figure out how they were going to win this duel. The plan was good, but it wouldn't get all of them. Plus, they didn't have a clue what kind of tactics their opponents would come up with. She and Mikey had been practising healing spells in secret, but there was only so much that they could do to prepare. When it came down to it, the Duel of Sevens was going to be exactly as Tabitha had described it; pure chaos.

XxX

Skye descended down the staircase of Divination Tower, her mind reeling. Trelawney had been particularly, well, Trelawney-ish today. Skye had wondered if she could use the session to gain an insight into the outcome of the Duel of Sevens, but once she had started talking about an emerging battle, Trelawny suddenly seemed to override her own opinion that Skye should decipher her visions without her aid.

' _Yes, dear. Truly you are in the beyond. I see the battle before you, one that will determine the fate of our world. Of seven, one will play the betrayer, while three will see their flames extinguished,'_ Trelawny had rambled.

Skye let out a quick snort. She highly doubted their Duel of Sevens would decide the fate of the world, but there was something slightly eerie about how she mentioned the number seven. Then again, her rational mind could hardly believe that second and third year students would cause serious harm with Jelly-Legs Jinxes and Disarming Spells. Deep in thought, a frown plain on her face, Skye jumped as someone cleared their throat as she reached the halfway point down the winding staircase.

"Who's there?" She called, eyes narrowing.

Skye watched as a pale boy rounded the corner, his dirty blonde hair sticking up in odd directions and paling at the tips. Immediately, her eyes narrowed on his green tie, indicating he was a Slytherin, and Skye drew her wand, pointing it at the boy. Usually, this reaction would have made her laugh at her own paranoia, but since word of their Duel of Sevens had spread, their group had been targeted by sneaky Slytherins trying to eliminate their group before they even made it to the pre-arranged date.

"I come in peace," the boy admitted, bringing his hands up from his pockets to show he wasn't armed.

Skye frowned at the boy, opting to lower her wand, but not at all considering to put it away. Luke had even ended up in the hospital wing one night, yet he refused to admit what had happened. Madam Pomfrey hadn't even let them in to see him once they had heard what had happened, only thanks to Lilith Griffins loud and gleeful boasting over dinner.

"What do you want?" Skye frowned, wondering if this was some kind of distraction.

"I came to warn you," he admitted, his gray eyes meeting her amber ones. "Luke Hunter isn't who you think he is."

Skye's eyebrows raised in shock, her eyes narrowing, trying to figure out what this boy was trying to do.

"And who exactly do I think he is?" Skye questioned him

"Your friend, but believe me, he's far from it," the boy revealed.

"Look. Luke has been helping us with our duelling and is even willing to put himself in the line of fire to help us. You guys even put him in hospital! So forgive me if I believe him over someone I don't even know," she huffed.

"Don't do that!" the boy raged.

"Do what?" she asked, shocked at his outburst.

"Think that just because some of us are mindless idiots who believe that everyone else is scum, that we all are," he shot back.

"Look, I'm sorry," Skye apologised, feeling genuinely guilty. "I shouldn't have just assumed that you're a part of this, but you have to admit, I'm going to need some substantial evidence to persuade me that my friend isn't actually my friend."

"Him and Lilith, they were childhood friends," the boy started.

"And how would you know?"

"I'm her cousin," he grimaced. "Which I didn't have to tell you by the way."

Skye had to admit, if there was something that would have made her trust him less, it was that, but he had choose to tell her anyway. If this conversation accomplished anything, it was sure to be her own confusion.

"Look, I have to admit, I don't have any real evidence, but I know Lilith. She has this serious superiority complex and she'll do anything to make sure she stays on top. She and Luke haven't really kept in touch recently, being in different houses, but there was always something there. They were always… plotting something," the boy scowled.

"No offence, but what does this even have to do with you, anyway?" Skye wondered.

"Nothing at all," the boy admitted, frowning as if he wondered what he was even doing himself.

"Well… look, err…" she paused, waiting for him to offer her a name.

He stared at her, expressionless, making it plain he wasn't going to give her one.

"You," she continued, feeling ridiculous. "I trust my friends unless they give me a reason not to. You have to understand that."

The boy blinked at her as if that was the most foreign concept in the world to him.

"You'd believe me if I wasn't Slytherin," he muttered, turning swiftly to march down the staircase.

"Hey! That's not true," she called out to him with a sigh.

Staring at the point at which he had disappeared, Skye opted to take a seat while she thought things through. Firstly, no one had attacked her, so it obviously wasn't a distraction. All he'd really accomplished was confusion. All Luke had done over the past week was help them train, and despite their differences in opinion, they had improved because he was a part of their group. There was just no way he would betray them.

' _One will play the betrayer,'_ her mind echoed.

Skye shook her head, thinking that one day Trelawney's ramblings would cause her to go crazy. She just had to trust her own decision and prepare for anything. Deciding a little research and revision might calm her, she headed off to the library for a little comfort reading.


	11. Chapter 11 - Chaos

**Chapter Eleven - Chaos**

According to the twins, all the teachers had practically vanished from the corridors which led to the suspicion, courtesy of Tabitha Hart, that they had tied them all up and shoved them in a broom closet. Typically, Skye would have thought this nonsense, but as the corridors remained eerily quiet as they journeyed to the empty classroom that would stage their duel, she couldn't help but think that was the only plausible explanation. Meeting up with Adam and Mikey, it seemed that they had a similar experience.

"This is just freaky," Mikey commented, shuddering slightly.

"Maybe they're all having a party?" Adam inputted, raising one finger.

"I can just picture it; right now McGonagall is leading the conga line, while Dumbledore does the cha cha," George mused.

"Can we please focus? I think they're already here…" Tabitha huffed.

As their group entered the empty classroom, they came across a group of students sat on the tables that has been pushed to the side of the room. Skye frowned when she realised the only person she really recognised was Lilith herself.

"Who are these people?" She whispered, frowning.

"Those two on the right are from our year," Fred revealed.

"Then those two talking to the girl with brown hair are from the Slytherin Quidditch team. They're fifth years," George added.

"Fifth years?" Skye squeaked.

"Don't worry, Skye. They're complete idiots. All brawn and no brains," Tabitha reassured her, giving her a grin.

"What about the girl?" Mikey wondered.

"Louise Hawking, fourth year Ravenclaw and junior duelling champion," came an answer from behind them. Their group turned to see Luke enter the room, only to bypass their group and head across the room to the other side. "And I make Seven. So, where is your Seventh?"

Their whole group gasped slightly as Luke smirked at them from across the room, Lilith looking practically elated.

"Erm, Luke. You're supposed to be on our side," Adam pointed out, clueless.

"Sorry, but I had other plans," he shrugged. "So do you have a Seventh, or do you forfeit?"

"We're not forfeiting! Just give us a minute," Tabitha barked, turning swiftly around to join their huddle.

"What are we going to do?" Skye hissed. "Can we battle with six?"

"No. It has to be seven or they win by default," Fred told her.

"Those creeps, they had this planned the entire time!" Tabitha growled.

"Why would he do this?" Mikey sulked, saddened. "He helped us train. We were friends."

"Just give up. There's no-one that can help you now," Lilith called over, smirking.

Mikey sighed, turning around to face them.

"You're right, but this just proves what cowards you are, and I won't forget that. I won't let you push me around anymore, Lilith," he announced, glaring at her and Luke.

"So do you forfeit?" Luke repeated, face neutral.

"No."

All eyes turned to the doorway as a small rebellious voice emerged. Skye was surprised to see a small pale figure with messy dirty blond hair skulk into the room to stand by them.

"Ethan? What are you doing here?" Lilith raged.

"I'm their Seventh," he announced, eyes hardened.

"Oh no you're not, you little bug!" Tabitha growled.

Ethan turned to her and met her gaze with his cloudy grey eyes.

"Either I'm your Seventh, or you forfeit. Choose," he commanded, eyebrows raised.

Skye held Tabitha back by grabbing her arm, remembering how Ethan had tried to warn them about Luke.

"He's our Seventh," she confirmed, nodding.

"Err… no offence Skye, but he is very likely to blast us in the back," Fred warned her.

"No, he's not. I trust him. He tried to warn me about Luke, but I didn't listen to him. If he hadn't have shown up, we would have forfeited and they would have won anyway," she explained.

She looked at Mikey, giving him the final decision. Mikey nodded, deciding to trust her judgement. At that, with a final exchange of apprehensive glances from the rest of their group, the six of them took their positions, lining up in a long row.

"Take a position behind us," Skye muttered to Ethan.

He gave her a long glance before nodding and taking a position behind her, taking his wand from his robes.

"That's right, you coward," Lilith scowled, "hide behind your friends. I can't believe you would betray your house and your family just to side with this filth."

"Please," Ethan rolled his eyes. "They're just a means to an end. You see Lilith, I'm tired of you having the respect and dominance in this family. I think it's about time I took charge."

"Sounds like your typical evil motives to me," Tabitha muttered, huffing.

Skye rolled her eyes, watching as Lilith and Luke exchange words, too quiet for them to hear. While Luke maintained his calm and calculating composure, Lilith looked worried. For her, something important was at stake. Finishing their exchange, they moved into their formation, with the two fifth year's at the front, Lilith, Luke and Louise positioned behind them, and the two third year's flanking their side. Suddenly, the tension in the room spiked as they considered their opponents, wands drawn in preparation.

"Seven, six, five…"

Skye drew in a sharp breath, her adrenaline spiking as she readied herself for chaos.

"Three, two, one."

A chorus of spells were bellowed, Skye adding her Softening and Sticking Spell to the mix, each aimed at the back wall. However, their group hesitated, watching as Mikey was tackled to the ground by Ethan, stray spells whizzing over their heads. Skye suspected Luke had informed them of their strategy as they targeted the person who was supposed to launch the Smokescreen. However, it seemed someone had been able to evoke it anyway. Their group stood to attention, wands raised where their enemy had stood, a chorus of ' _Ventos_ ' of different strengths being shouted.

A gale force wind filled the room, causing the smoke to retreat into the back wall. The fifth year Slytherin was the first to be taken out, slamming into the third year girl on the way, causing them both to stick to the back wall and bounce around. However, the second fifth year was launched back to meet an invisible wall.

"Shield spell!" Skye called, realising why he had seemingly come to a stop in mid air.

Cursing Luke into oblivion, Skye prepared herself for their retaliation, watching as the winds died away. The first to rush forward was Louise, the fifth year Slytherin charging out in front of her. A plethora of spells were launched from behind him, carefully aimed so not to hit her teammate. One managed to hit George, his body collapsing to the ground.

"Petrificus Totalus," Skye bellowed, hitting the fifth year to cause him to seize up. However, Louise was ready for them, pushing the fifth year forward so that he fell towards a raging Tabitha, managing to trap her under his stone cold body. Skye watched as she targeted a helpless Tabitha, the spell launched hitting Adam in the chest as he rushed in to protect her, causing his giggles to fill the room as he collapsed, clutching at his sides.

"Skye!" Tabitha yelled.

"Locomotor Mortis!" Louise called, aiming her wand in Skye's direction.

"Protego," she bellowed, watching as the shield absorbed the spell, slightly disappointed she hadn't managed to deflect it back at her.

However, seemingly it didn't matter as Louise collapsed, caught in a Leg-Locking Jinx. Looking behind the shocked girl, Skye was pleased to see George was back on his feet, Ethan at his side.

"Stupefy," Louise bellowed from the ground, her wand still in hand.

George collapsed to the ground, stunned, as Skye launched a Disarming Spell in her direction, while Ethan also hit her with a spell from the back, causing ropes to wrap around her arms and legs, making her fall to the ground.

"Behind you!" Skye warned him, watching as Lilith approached.

Ethan span to face her, her face contorted into rage as they began to blast spells at each other. However, their battle was interrupted as a large explosion sounded in the room, throwing Skye backwards as her ears began to ring. Opening her eyes, she realised she had been caught in her own Sticking Spell, her body bouncing around while Luke smirked in her direction.

"Well this sucks," Fred frowned, his own body in a similar situation a couple of paces from her.

Skye watched helpless as the battle raged on. Currently, Ethan and Lilith were engaged in an intense battle. Meanwhile, Luke's eyes narrowed on Mikey and Tabitha as Mikey attempted to pull her free from under the burly fifth year. Seemingly, he wasn't the only one who noticed their struggle, the third year boy also zoning in on them.

"Tabitha, Mikey! Watch out, they're coming!" She exclaimed, trying to pull at her adhered arms.

Skye could only watch as Mikey raised his wand, plumes of smoke being admitted as he evoked a Smokescreen Spell. Watching intently, the seconds dragged on as Skye squinted to watch Luke and the third year fire spells into the smoke. Tabitha emerged bellowing from the smoke, directing a Jelly-brained Jinx in the direction of the third year boy. He collapsed, a vacant look on his face as he hit the ground. Next, her sight was set on Luke himself.

"Flipendo!" She bellowed.

Luke's retaliation occurred in a blink of an eye, a Shield spell being evoked to redirect Tabitha's spell back at her, launching her across the room with a thud.

"Melofors!" Mikey bellowed.

Skye and Fred burst out into fits of laughter as they watched Luke's head shift into a pumpkin. His arms raised to it in panic, Mikey bellowing as he charged towards him, pushing him into the range of the Sticking Spell. Together they fell, their bodies bouncing up and down, the Pumpkin splitting to reveal Luke's surprised face.

"Go Mikey!" Fred cheered.

Skye frowned.

"Mikey, you're stuck aren't you?" She sighed, watching as he tried to pull his arms away from the floor.

"A little," he admitted, looking sheepish.

Skye turned her attention back to the fight between the two cousins. Each of them we're breathing heavily, their battle having raged on for too long. Suddenly, two spells collided, causing a force big enough to blow them both backwards. Ethan hit the wall, slumping against it, while Lilith just glided back, slowly coming to a stop. Smirking, she picked herself up, charging towards Ethan as he tried to move, groggy. Raising his wand, he aimed it towards the floor.

"Glacius."

As Lilith rushed towards Ethan, she came across the patch of floor he had targeted his Freezing Spell on. Her momentum sent her flying, her feet skidding across the floor, sending her back to meet the floor. She let out a grunt as the wind was knocked out of her, her wand rolling across the floor.

"Did we just… win?" Skye asked, slightly stunned.

"You know what, I think we did," Fred laughed.

"How the hell do we get out of this?" The fifth year Slytherin grunted.

Fred looked at Skye expectantly.

"To be honest, I would have expected the Sticking Spell to have been released a while ago," she admitted, guiltily.

"The teachers are going to kill us if they find us like this," the third year Slytherin girl huffed.

A sigh came from Louise as she squirmed on the ground, her arms and legs still bound.

"Come on, kid. Release me and I can start countering all these spells," she told Ethan, who was giving her an apprehensive glance. "I'm not going to hurt you. I only did this because Luke asked and I had to admit a Duel of Sevens sounded pretty cool. Nothing personal, I swear."

Deciding she sounded pretty sincere, Ethan shrugged and countered the spell, causing Louise to rub at her hands in relief. Then, she picked up her wand from the floor and aimed it at the wall where everyone was stuck.

"Brace yourselves," she grinned.

Skye let out a yelp and she and the others stuck to the back wall fell to the ground. Mikey rolled off of Luke, looking relieved to no longer be lying on top of him. No longer stuck to a wall, Skye ran over to check on a groaning Tabitha, while Mikey and Fred went to check on Adam and George respectively.

"Are you ok?" She wondered, offering her a hand.

"I landed on my but. It seriously hurts, Skye," she groaned, rubbing her backside.

"Well at least it's well padded," she laughed.

"Hey!" Tabitha yelped, giving her a punch on the arm.

"Err, Skye? Some help here?" Mikey asked, leading a still giggling Adam across the room.

"Pleeeassee," he tittered, tears falling from his eyes. "Make. It. Stop."

"Finite Incantatem," she said, aiming her wand at Adam.

"Oh, geez. If I knew it was that easy I would have done that during the duel," Mikey huffed, rubbing the back of his head.

Meanwhile, Adam was expressing his eternal gratitude, bowing and scraping at Skye as if she had just released him from a guesome curse. With a shake of her had, she turned to find most of the students had been taken care of, George being the final person to have his stunned state countered by Louise with a Rennervation Spell. The only person left was the burly fifth year she had Petrified.

"What about him?" She asked Louise, indicating the Slytherin.

"He got in my way," she shrugged, deciding he was fine as he was. "That spell fades over time anyway."

"Right," Skye stated.

"Man, this Duel of Sevens is a tricky business, huh?" She chirped up gleefully. "I'm mad I got taken down, but I suppose it's kind of flattering to think it took three of you to do it. Maybe next time, eh?"

Louise gave Skye a wink, causing her to think the girl was positively bonkers. Skye never wanted to participate in a Duel of Sevens ever again.

"I think we should be heading back to our Common Rooms before the teachers begin to magically reappear," Mikey suggested, gulping slightly.

"Erm, thanks for your help," Skye told Louisa. "Do you need help getting back?"

"Please, I was evading teachers well before your time," she grinned. "But let's do this again sometime. It was fun."

The group watched as Louisa headed out the classroom with a wave.

"I would call this experience anything but fun," George stated.

"Where's Ethan? He might want someone to go with him too," Skye realised, looking around.

"I'm pretty sure he's gone," Adam pointed out.

Skye glanced around the room, noticing that Adam was right. Ethan wasn't anywhere is sight. However, it seemed that the other Slytherins and Luke were still regrouping, Luke glaring at the lot of them. Skye let out a sigh of relief as she realised he would be fine as long as he got back before they did. Then, her eyes met Liliths which raged and narrowed, making her green eyes spark.

"Come on," she muttered. "I don't think it's a good idea to lurk around here much longer."

"See you later, losers!" Tabitha chirped up as they headed out.

"Tabitha!" Mikey scolded her.

"Don't be so sullen, Mikey. We won," she stated gleefully. "Tomorrow as we enter the Great Hall, we will be greeted like heroes."


	12. Chapter 12 - Snap

**Chapter Twelve - Snap**

"Hey, did you guys hear the news?" Cormac McLaggen asked Tabitha as she sat down to breakfast.

"I know, I know. I'm a Duel of Sevens champion," she beamed. "Please, hold your applause."

"What? No," he smirked. "How can you guys not know? The entire school knows."

"Just spit it out, McLaggen, before I Jinx you into oblivion," Tabitha grumbled, eyes narrowing on the boy.

"Last night, You-Know-Who returned to Hogwarts and Harry Potter beat him again," he told them. "Course, I'm starting to think it must not be that hard. I could have probably taken him on as a baby and made sure he couldn't return…"

"What?" Skye and Tabitha exclaimed together.

"I can't believe that little runt is stealing my thunder all over again," Tabitha huffed, eyes rolling.

"That is not the part we should be focussing on here, Tabitha! Did you miss the part where an evil wizard apparently came back from the dead?" She squealed, eyes popping.

"So I guess you guys have heard what happened last night," George frowned, sitting down to join them for breakfast.

"Yeah, but how is it even possible? I mean, how does You-Know-Who enter Hogwarts from beyond the grave?" Skye wondered in disbelief.

"Well, many believed that he wasn't really dead, so maybe he heard that Harry had started Hogwarts and sought him out," Fred speculated.

"Speaking of Harry…" George began.

"We were thinking of sending him a rather fabulous gift in the hospital wing…" Fred continued.

"And we couldn't help but think we could use your evil genius to help us," George finished.

Tabitha began muttering to herself about Harry Potter being so brilliant, Skye opting to ignore her to give the twins a nervous glance.

"What kind of gift are we talking about exactly?" She asked, thinking she was already halfway to detention.

"A toilet seat," Fred grinned.

"Didn't you already try that? Weren't you going to send it to your sister?" Skye inquired, an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, but we went a bit overboard and the whole toilet blew up. I doubt I would have been able to distinguish the seat from anything else from the way it ended up," George laughed.

"You know you can just unscrew a toilet seat, right?" Skye sighed.

"Exactly why we need you, Skye. You think outside the magical box," Fred grinned.

"How are you even going to get it past Madam Pomfrey?" Tabitha asked, intrigued.

"Deliver it by owl of course," George stated gleefully.

"They can get quite aggressive if you try to intercept a delivery," Fred explained.

"How would you know?" Tabitha huffed.

"Clearly, you've never had to intercept a letter to your parents from school," George shuddered.

"That's because I've never been caught," she retorted, smug.

Skye laughed as her friend bickered amongst themselves, arguing about the aggression of birds. Across the room, her eyes met Mikey's that indicated the two tables between them. Skye looked across to the Slytherin table, watching as Lilith sat on her own, her face miserable. Meanwhile, at the Ravenclaw table, Luke sat amongst a group of friends, laughing. Skye scowled wondering how he could appear so laid back.

She turned back to Mikey, her eyebrows raised in questioning. Mikey indicated the opposite end of the Slytherin table to which Lilith was sat and Skye followed his gaze where a messy haired boy was staring at her. As soon as she met his grey eyes he stood up and walked out the Great Hall, a slight nod to indicate her to follow. She stood up, muttering something about being back soon to her fellow Gryffindors.

"Are you okay?" Skye asked in concern, approaching Ethan as she entered the empty corridor.

"Look, err, thanks for letting me fight with you guys last night," he fidgeted, looking at the floor.

"Really, I should be thanking you. We would have lost everything if you hadn't have been our Seventh," she smiled. "Was everything ok this morning? I was a bit worried the others might gang up on you."

"Well, thankfully for me there was bigger gossip about than our duel. Hardly anyone knows, and I think it's better if it stays like that, do you understand?" He asked, gazing at her intently.

"You mean you want me to stop Tabitha announcing it to the entire world," Skye sighed, thinking it was harder than it sounded.

"You owe me. I can't survive in this school if everyone knows all about this," he panicked.

"Would it really be so bad?" She frowned.

"Please, Skye," he begged. "I've spent this whole year a shadow. It has got to stay that way if I want to stick around for six more years."

"Ok, ok," she agreed. "I'll make sure everyone knows. You know if you ever want to talk about anything…"

Skye watched as Ethan's head whipped round as fast as lightning, resting on the direction of a faint humming sound. Skye followed the direction, watching as Professor Dumbledore rounded the corner.

"Miss Knight," Dumbledore nodded in greeting, heading into the Hall.

Skye gave him a slight wave before looking back to where Ethan had stood, the space now empty. Frowning, she wondered why it was so important he remained 'in the shadows' as he had put it. Deciding the only way to gain his trust was to follow his wishes, she headed back into the Great Hall, preparing herself to tell Tabitha Hart that what she considered one of her greatest accomplishments was now classified information.

XxX

Skye jumped, her heart fluttering as something whizzed past the window of The Hogwarts Express with a loud bang. Giving the group before her her best disapproving glare, her eyes narrowed on Adam as the most sheepish looking person.

"Sorry," he muttered clutching his Exploding Snap cards, "it just kind of slipped."

"Don't worry about it. She's just grumpy because they told her she can't skip Divination and switched her choices," Mikey explained, giving her a sympathetic look.

"Why would she be unhappy about that? I hear that the best person in the world will be taking that class right alongside you, as well as their two trusty sidekicks," Tabitha grinned, flicking a card in Adam's direction which singed his eyebrows slightly.

"Oh thank goodness, Cormac will be in that class? I'm so relieved," Skye exacurated, having to dodge three exploding cards which made smoking holes in the train seat behind her.

"Don't worry, Skye!" Came a bellow as the door to the compartment was slid open.

"We'll shield you!"

Skye's eyes widened as she watched a flicker of red hair dive into her position. Screeching, she tensed, her knee hitting someone causing it to bounce off, while another landed in her lap.

"I feel so rejected," Fred cried, clutching his heart as he lay on the floor.

"Err, George, do you have to?" Skye asked as he shuffled about in her lap and raised his hands into her face as if he was protecting her.

"I think you got the better end of the deal, Skye," Adam pointed out, shoving George's feet from his face.

Next things she knew, the crackle of the cards could be heard as everyone launched a serious assault on poor George. Fred laughed, wisps of smoke coming from the floor.

"Err, Fred. I think you're lying on the other cards that were on the floor," Mikey frowned, watching with concern as the smoke became more prominent.

Fred yelped, shooting upright and deciding to mimic George's position in their compartment on the other side, his head resting on Mikey while he shoved his feet into a disgusted Tabitha's face. Skye laughed, watching as Fred wiggled around before being pushed back onto the floor. However, her eyes flickered to the window of the door, eyes meeting cloudy gray ones which looked in with envy before disappearing out of sight.

"What's the deal with that Ethan kid?" Adam asked, having also caught sight of their brief visitor.

"He looks so lonely. I've never seen him with any friends," Mikey sympathised, eyes saddened.

"I'd never even seen him before that duel," Tabitha huffed, earning herself a glare from Skye.

"You know, speaking of the duel… I never thanked whoever invoked the Smokescreen spell," Mikey inquired, looking around the room, before his eyes rested on Skye.

"It wasn't me," Skye admitted, shrugging.

"Fred? George?"

Both boys shook their heads. Then as everyone took a mental tally, all eyes turned towards Adam who grinned and gave them an enthusiastic wave.

"Hey, how do you know it wasn't me?" Tabitha huffed, folding her arms.

"We would have heard about it already," Skye stated simply.

Tabitha opened her mouth to retaliate, closing as she accepted the statement with a nod.

"Who would have thought it. Skye the foe of felines and Adam the saviour of Seven," Fred announced, impressed as he sat cross-legged on the floor.

"You have to look out for the quiet ones, Freddie," George revealed, grinning up at Skye.

"Summer is going to be so boring," Tabitha groaned. "How am I going to survive?"

"I'm sure you'll manage, Tabitha," Skye sighed.

"Yeah, well this time everyone is coming to my house. No meagre trips, Mikey!" She said pointedly, pouting.

"Well, it would help if you gave me more than a minutes notice. Muggles can't just appear somewhere spontaneously," Mikey frowned.

"How the muggle world survives is a mystery to me," Tabitha said with a shake of her head.

"Then how about I make you a deal. I show you the muggle world and I'll make sure I have a free week this summer," Mikey offered, grinning.

"Michael Felton, we have a deal."


End file.
